Lost Kit
by Charlie Raey
Summary: A harsh mistake rips away innocence, peace, and security. Can a friendship hold together through pain and sorrow, to become something more? Or will fear destroy everything? Sasunaru. Rated M for Strongly Hinted Rape and Language.
1. Misunderstood

'Die Trying' by The Art Of Dying

* * *

Dark eyes were obscured by darker bangs, as thunder roared and bellowed overhead. The man's jaw clenched, as lightening splayed it's tendrils across the angry black sky.

"Where the hell is he?" The man hissed, voice becoming hoarse from yelling.

Rain splattered down the pale angles of his face, and the hood of his blue-grey jacket fell, releasing a spiky mop of raven colored hair, that clung to his forehead and neck, soaked to the roots.

He glared downward at the gravel under his shoes, ignoring his unruly shadowy hair, as it was tossed wildly around by the punishing winds.

The tall, lean boy growled, and his onyx eyes flicked once again over the squat, run down houses all around him.

They were little more than a few rickety planks of wood and bent nails, really. The shacks -if they could be called such- leaned, screeched, creaked, and moaned under the weather's harsh blows, nagging the thundering wind to let up, as if crying out for their poverty.

He cursed, shaking his head. He could feel the tears beginning to build up.

Where was he?

Where could he possibly be?

Surely he hadn't taken the raven seriously.

"Shit," Sasuke murmured, despair starting to well up inside him like a tidal wave, crushing and cold, chilling him.

He kept walking, breath coming in short, ragged gasps, as he yelled for the blonde, voice lost, thrown and tossed about by the raging storm, water running down his back.

"Naruto! NARUTO!" He screeched, throat burning. _Surely bleeding_, the raven thought, _by now_.

He kept calling, and groaned as nausea roiled in his stomach in suspense and worry.

_I can't believe I said that to him. I didn't know. Dammit. I'm the biggest asshole I've ever met, _thought Sasuke, groaning again, his fingers knotted in his hair, tugging, and tears melting on his alabaster skin, joining the rain.

"Fuck," he sobbed, pulling his jacket closer, fingers frozen and stiff but still workable.

He coughed, and then wailed again, "Naruto!"

Then, he heard voices down the road, and began to walk to them, hoping for a clue as to where the blonde could be.

"Yeah, I agree man. That bastard fox is finally going to die. Good riddance!" yelled a voice over the storm, and Sasuke stilled, and concentrated on hearing.

"Yup, and now, with that beating, he will. Kinda wish I'd gotten to fuck it again though. Too cold for too much."

_What?_

"Yeah, great game though. Wish it'd lasted a little longer. Too bad. Its ass was so tight. It felt good, no matter how evil it was."

Sasuke began to move. Slowly. Deliberately. Angrily. Each step splashed down into the muddy puddles that littered the torn up gravel road.

He was really beginning to work up a fury, when he realized that the group of men, no more than three, was within his view now. They were enjoying themselves, joking around, as they chuckled.

He also realized that, no matter how much he might want to, he couldn't kill them. Not yet. Naruto needed him. He didn't have the time required to make them suffer.

"Dammit," he growled, and shook his head quickly, promising himself that he would come back and kill them as soon as he was able to.

Then, restraining himself, Sasuke went over to them, and grabbed one suddenly by the neck, throwing him into the sharp gravel. "Hey! What the—" The man was cut off by a jab to the chest, and his hair being practically ripped out by pale, curled fingers.

"_Where is he?"_ The Uchiha seethed into his ear, livid and still trying to hold back.

"I don't know who you mean!" The man cried, thrashing and wincing as Sasuke twisted harder.

"Where is the blonde Dobe?"

"Who?"

Another of the men went down as the raven rammed his elbow into his stomach, digging deeper still into the other's scalp with his nails.

"Naruto. Where?"

"Oh," said the last man, still standing at a safe distance," You mean the Kyuubi brat, right?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed obsidian in the rain, drops still trickling down his face. The man twisted and gritted his teeth.

He had to control himself, so he closed his lids, whispering, "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. Where is he?"

Now, grabbing a piece of broken glass off the ground, the raven held it in front of his left eye.

"I'll give you to the count of three."

"One." The mans eyes widened and he now swallowed. He hadn't thought Sasuke was serious. Looking back at him, he stiffened. What he saw there wasn't anger. It was cold, deadly killer.

"Two," Sasuke murmured, edging it closer so the razor sharp jagged tip was touching the corner of his lid.

"Three." Drawing back, he readjusted his grip so he wouldn't get cut in reverse and wound up to stab. His eyes hadn't changed. They were steel black, and hard as stone.

"I-he was back by the old warehouse when we last saw him," the guy sputtered finally, pain releasing his tongue, as Sasuke twisted again, yanking his head back further. The tip glittered lethally half-an-inch from his cornea, and his lashes brushed it when he blinked nervously.

"Shut up, Hitai!" Another of the men yelled, beginning to walk towards the raven, which was holding in his fury, but only barely.

"_Don't even think about touching me, you fucking **bastard!"**_ he muttered, his eyes burning as 'doom' pulsed from him in waves.

The man grinned crookedly, two teeth missing and said back, "Uh-uh. You're not even going to make it there, so don't even try it, you little shit."

"Fine." And with that, Sasuke rammed Hitai into the gravel, threw the glass into the talking man's right ankle. Ignoring the agonized scream, he kept going, leaping over to the other two and slamming his fist into their stomachs, and kept hitting, waiting for his anger to dissipate as he raged on the three guys.

-In retrospect, we learn that it is not smart to fuck with Naruto Uzumaki. LITERALLY OR OTHERWISE-

"Please," one of them choked out after several seconds of this, a rib broken and bruises painting his body, groin not spared.

Sasuke ignored him, and kept pounding, then remembering Naruto, stopped reluctantly, pulling one up by the hair yet again, getting close to his face and whispering, rain sliding down his face, "Where did you say he was?"

"B-by the old warehouse—eighteen blocks from here."

'_Naruto…_' the Uchiha thought, releasing the man's hair, letting him fall into a puddle.

Then, thinking of something, he stayed squatted down for a moment, gripped two of them by their hair and brought them up to his eyelevel.

He growled to both, "If I _ever-**ever**_ catch **any** of you doing this to him again, you will **_all_** wish you'd never heard the name Sasuke Uchiha. I swear it by my life. Do you understand?"

They nodded silently.

"I don't think you heard me. I said-Do you **_fucking understand me?"_**

They groaned as one, murmuring, "Yes." He smirked, sour face twisting into a glare of momentous proportions.

"Good."

Rain continued its endless onslaught, as the onyx eyed seventeen-year-old began to sprint up the street, towards the other side of a horrible neighborhood, towards his friend.

'Naruto…'

* * *

Some miles away, blonde hair was matted down with blood, hardened before the rain got to him. It came in great swathes, blanketing him every few minutes, letting up just to allow him to breathe.

Pain ricocheted through his small frame, red stains running down, covering his clothes that were lying in shreds beside him. His whole body was throbbing, and his once clear blue eyes were glazed over, milky with agony. His breathes, shallow and separate, with coming in ragged heaves, sobs silently shaking his body.

'Sasuke…..I'm sorry' He thought, grimacing with more pain, before he tried to move a little bit, dragging his bruised, beaten, and bloody form slowly, agonizingly further into the corner, trying to escape the stinging rain.

He pulled himself upright, screaming softly between breathes, and trying to stay quiet.

The rain came again, hand-in-hand with the yell of anguish, his voice penetrating the roar of the storm above him.

Blackness came in great folds, surrounding him and offering peace.

Naruto tried to smile, but only succeeded in widening the slashes on the sides of his face, and whimpered again.

Then, gratefully, he dissolved into his torment, letting the final white flash of excruciating pain absorb him into silence.

* * *

Sasuke ran, no—_flew_ down the discarded boulevard, the warehouse within view, and his heart pounded, terrified that he was too late to save the blonde.

He raced against time, throat burning and chest tightened in desperation and worry.

Raven hair was blown back, and the Uchiha could've sworn he'd lost **all** his hair by the time his flight was over.

Thunder roiled overhead, and he rounded another corner, sliding a little before gaining the necessary friction. His shoes slammed into puddles and rain streamed down his face, beating the tears to dripping from his chin.

When he reached it, Sasuke skidded to a halt, his eyes darting around, whirling, and looking for his friend.

Spotting the shadows concealed behind the building, he gasped out another breath and went forward.

He felt dread in his gut, putting in a last burst of speed, collapsing when he approached the alleyway.

"Naruto," he whispered, voice nearly completely gone, as he saw the blonde, propped up in a cornet, naked, with blood pooled everywhere in the dank, flooded space, his clothes in rags and piled in another corner.

More tears came to his face, and he stumbled towards Naruto, eyes widening as he got closer.

Bruises painted the blonde's body like a radical artist's work, and his hair was matted and dyed with blood, his face blank, eyes closed.

Sasuke's horror was growing, seeing cuts and slashes all over the poor blonde's body, welts all over his chest and sides.

The exhausted raven crawled over to the other, sitting next to him and putting a hand on his arms, wincing when Naruto whimpered, scared even in unconsciousness.

The Uchiha took off his coat and draped it over the blonde's shivering and beaten up body, making sure not to harm him.

"Please," escaped the hurt boy's lips, and he recoiled from both the coat and Sasuke, "No. Don't touch me!"

"No, please," the teen whispered again, then cried out, collapsing down, onto the flooded street ground.

"Naruto…" the raven murmured, swallowing whatever pride he had left and pulling the abused blonde into his arms, rocking and trying to calm him down. His arms were weakly thrashing now, and he rocked slower, cooing softly.

The still dreaming teen writhed and screamed into Sasuke's shoulder, positioned though he was.

"Stop! Don't! Help!"

Lightning flashed overhead, and the rain poured.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Sasuke.

'_I've got to get him somewhere safer.'_

"Naruto? Naruto wake up," he quit rocking, shaking the blonde's shoulder, carefully avoiding any painful spots.

The beaten teen screeched louder, his body beginning to bleed again, feet struggling, as the coat slipped and Sasuke frowned, and started to panic. If Naruto didn't stop, he'd only succeed in injuring himself further.

"Please," the golden haired boy sobbed, his voice breaking as his frantic wriggling stopped when his rear shifted, whining in pain.

The raven froze.

'_Shit,'_ Sasuke thought, and pulled the coat back down, carefully wrapping it around Naruto's abused waist, gentle and trying not to jar him too harshly.

When he glanced up, his heart beat quickened, and his eyes scanned the high walls, dilated with his fear. He hadn't noticed before. The alleyway was on a dropping incline, leading down, and the rain was beginning to pile higher. The line of mold that grew from these floods in the alley was well above their heads, and he gritted his teeth hard, tasting blood and turning back to the broken blonde.

"Come on, Naruto…." His breath was a mist, as the rain kept coming, fog starting to form on the ground just above the rising water.

The slashes on his face bled freely, as the blonde sobbed uncontrollably into the Uchiha, still locked in his nightmare.

Sasuke looked around, as if help would bubble up from somewhere unexpected.

Then, deciding, he grabbed the boy in his arms tighter and tried to stand, leaning on the building behind them for support.

He slipped, and just stopped himself from dropping Naruto, as he cushioned their fall.

The blonde on him still screamed though, his ass rubbing against Sasuke's knees, clutching the raven closer while still trying to get away, begging and pleading for his dreams to stop their torture.

'_I should've killed them,'_ was the ravens thought as he tried again, struggling up towards the endless downpour coming from the furious clouds above, "_I should've killed them and killed them slowly and killed them for doing this to him. I should've made them pay."_

He screamed defiance at the sky as it thundered loudly. Rain came in great torrents and his feet made no sound over the noise. Like they weren't even there. The only things Sasuke could make out was the rain and Naruto crying into the crook of his shoulder.

"I'm begging you. Wake up!" He shouted, straining under both their weight.

"Sasuke…" a tiny mumble amid the screaming, stinging rain.

The Uchiha stopped, his eyes staring at the boy in his grasp.

"Sasuke?" The brilliant azure eyes peeked open, his voice still quavering in fear, "Are you really here?"

"Hey. I'm here. Are you hu—going to be okay?"

"I'm numb," Naruto murmured, fists clutching the raven harder, with the rest of his trembling, "I can barely feel you. Everything's so cold, Sasuke."

"Just hang on. I'm going to get you out of here," he assured him, and struggled down the street.

Naruto didn't start crying again, instead quiet.

"I'm so cold, teme. Is this what death feels like?" Sasuke froze and looked down, stunned, at the friend. Naruto sounded so…calm. His eyes were glazed over and now that he got a closer look, the raven saw he was shaking in a constant motion.

"No. No this is what pain feels like," he said gently, and hugged him tighter, "It'll be alright, Dobe. I promise."

"But I can't even feel anything. Are you still holding be tightly, Sasuke? I can't feel you, and I can barely see you. It's so cold."

Alarmed, the raven leaned down and clung to the Dobe, blood smearing from his hair onto the pale skin of his cheek, quickly dripping off with the rain.

"Come on. We've got to get out of here," Sasuke murmured into the blonde's hair, as the other buried himself deeper in the Uchiha's chest, as if for protection.

Then, as more stinging rain stopped just short of their feet, Naruto quaked with sobs, crying into the already soaked shirt that the raven had on.

"It's so cooold, Sasuke. Please…"

"Shhh. I'm so sorry, Naruto. I never should've-" he bit his lip and leaned on a wall, trying to arrange him better before going on.

The blonde's teeth chattered loudly and he had a limp hold on the jacket where his knuckles used to be white from exertion. The raven's chest tightened and he felt a sob rising up in his stomach, twisting into him like a knife. He had done this. It was his fault.

"Hehe. Teme," Naruto whispered voice soft and breaking, "you saved me. That's all that matters." Then, coughing, he fell quiet again, and his hand dropped, curling into a smaller shape as he passed out again.

But before Sasuke could even get the will to move away from the wall, another voice came out.

"What's going on?" Kakashi ran around the corner and his footsteps echoed over the rain somehow, waking the exhausted blonde back up to his un-ending nightmare.

"Wha- Naruto, it's okay. It's only me," The silver-haired man stepped closer, only to leap back as the screeching reached a new high, the blonde now all but thrashing in Sasuke's arms, whining and begging for Sasuke to help him, caught yet again in his trauma.

"Dobe, it's only Kakashi. You know him. It'll be alright," He relaxed some of his grip, only to be clutched tighter by the small blonde teen, who was about a half a foot shorter than him, golden head tucked under his pale chin, weeping.

"Naruto? Damn it. Lost him again," the raven cursed, looking back up at his English professor with anger, growling, "Don't come closer until I calm him back down. Damn. He just fell asleep."

His gaze softened, and he leaned back against the rough brick of the warehouse, trying to soothe the blonde again, rocking him back and forth awkwardly in his arms, murmuring softly over the rain's now slower pitter-patter.

Big fat drops fell heavily down on their heads, slipping through their hair and down their cheeks.

Sasuke whispered reassuringly to the blonde, and continued to rock until his ground-breaking screams were down to small whimpers, buried in the raven's wet chest. It took about ten minutes, the whole time Naruto whimpered for the Uchiha to help him please.

"That's it. It'll be alright Naruto. It's only Kakashi," he finished, motioning quietly to the patiently waiting man, who stepped gently over to them and sucked in his breath roughly when he saw what shape Naruto was in, his only visible eyebrow disappearing altogether into his spiky and drenched hair, shocked.

"What happened?" he growled, glancing around angrily, once over the initial impact of seeing a boy you value as nothing less than a close nephew, bleeding and naked, and in that bad a shape.

"Later. Now we need to get him back to the dorm. He's not going to do anything tonight except get a bath and sleep. It's nearly 1'o clock in the morning anyways," the man answered himself, waving away any arguments about medicine.

"No Sasuke. I can guess what went on, and he's not going to remain calm unless we keep people away. Let's go."

The raven followed Kakashi as best he could, exhausted to the point of collapse, with a blonde that absolutely _refused _to be shifted to anyone else's hold.

They reached the university buildings shortly after 1:34 Am, both stumbling and glad to be far away from the horrible neighborhood that Sasuke had found Naruto in, raped and beaten.

Another figure was waiting inside, and was scared out of her mind when she set off the screaming blonde, though he was really not very loud now, having been calmed at least half an dozen times on the way there, twice when Kakashi got too close, and several when Sasuke had relaxed his grip for a moment to rest.

He'd gotten much easier to reach, and was quickly shushed, still making tiny whimpers into the raven's soaked shirt, tears barely leaking out from his eyes, which only opened a little bit once in a while, glazed over with his dream and reality both.

"Naruto," Tsunade whispered, putting a hand out to him, only to jerk it back, nearly slapping herself, when the teen whined and shied away, dream monsters echoing in his mind, clinging to the raven with all his might.

His terror overpowered the agony that was practically etched in every line of his body, which still oozed blood from at least a dozen places.

His golden hair was still dripping rain, and random strands were covering half his face, as his eyes clamped shut, flinching away from both Kakashi and Tsunade, closer yet to the raven, which was starting to feel squeezed.

"Dobe…too tight," he breathed quietly into Naruto's ear, and sighed when the blonde whined and relaxed a little bit, nestling his head closer to Sasuke's chest.

"We've got to get him to a doctor," the busty blonde woman began, and both of the men stopped her, shaking their heads negatively.

"Uh-uh. This kid is not going anywhere until tomorrow. He needs a bath and sleep. Where should we put him?" The silver hair bobbed on his head as the man turned it to the side, thinking.

"He sleeps in my room."

Tsunade and Kakashi stared at the raven, surprised.

"Your…room?"

"I do have a dorm room here you know."

The masked man was the first to recover and nodded, his visible eyes curving up in a smile, "That works."

"Yes, but we need to discuss what to do tomorrow," the blonde woman murmured, quiet because Naruto had drifted off again, shivering in the air conditioner with his naked body only partially covered, the rest still drying.

"How bout we deal with that when we get there," the silver haired man offered, and waited for the principal to say what her thoughts were.

Tsunade thought for a moment, and then nodded.

"Kakashi, come with me. Sasuke, do you need help?"

"Just the keys to the elevator. My room's on the third level," he growled, trying to gently readjust the blonde in his arms without waking him. He succeeded in getting the boy into a more comfortable position, and then accepted the keys from the woman, who tried to smile, but grimaced instead.

"Be careful with him Sasuke," Kakashi murmured to the raven, walking slowly after Tsunade, who was halfway down the hall.

"I will," the Uchiha whispered, mostly to himself, looking back down on Naruto's bloody face.

As he reached the elevator, he put the key in, stepping calmly in.

The doors slid shut and he glanced at the blonde bundle in his arms.. That was looking at him. He blinked.

"Naruto? Are you awake?"

Blue eyes were glazed and not fully reactive to the bright lights, but Naruto nodded anyways, wincing when the slashes on his cheeks were accidentally disturbed.

"Where?" The golden haired boy asked softly, his voice muffled by the raven's chest, which he was buried in.

"We're heading to my dorm room," he whispered back, watching the elevator lights above click into place as they arrived on the second floor. One more to go.

He hummed to himself, not realizing it when Naruto began to listen, used to his weight by now.

"I think I know that one," came a thin murmur from the blonde, startling the Uchiha, who had closed his eyes, waiting for the ding that signaled the end of the ride.

He looked down at Naruto. Lids heavily drooped and azure eyes gazed up at him, sleepy and glazed over.

A tiny smile appeared on Sasuke's lips.

'_Dobe…'_

"You came for me," the voice came again, and the raven looked back up at the light, which chose that moment to switch into place, the doors sliding open. He removed the key, and stepped out, walking down the carpeted hallway to his room, and unlocking it with some maneuvering.

Dark blue sheets and blankets were folded on the bed, and the room was dark except for a lamp in the corner, left on from before his frantic rush a few hours ago.

He shivered, and turned the thermostat up, then went into the bathroom, piling towels by the tub as he gently sat Naruto inside, leaving the jacket on, and keeping one hand in the blonde's to comfort him.

"Sasuke?" the teen asked a hint of panic in his voice. The raven paused, looking down at him with a reassuring look on his face, starting the water, feeling it.

The water rippled as the blonde's body tensed, and his eyes began to lose themselves.

"Naruto. Stay with me. I'm not going to do anything. I swear," he murmured, placing another hand on the one he already held.

"No…" the other began, and then shivered, mumbling incoherently to himself, panicked.

His memories started to take over, and he saw four men around him, grins on their glaring faces, as they got closer.

"Please…stop. No! Don't touch me!" He whimpered miserably, flinching away from the raven, who was trying to gather him back into his weary arms.

The water filled the tub, warm and relaxing.

Sasuke tried to leave him be, stepping off just a few feet to give him a chance to realize it was just a bath, but he knew that somehow, he had to get the blonde clothed and that jacket out of the tub.

He stopped the water, hurt pricking him as Naruto shied away frantically.

"No…please, stop!" The blonde muttered to himself, sinking deeper into the nightmare, losing his grip completely.

'_I have to do something,'_ he thought.

"Naruto," he began, "I'm going to move my jacket now, alright?"

The blonde moved further away, Sasuke trying to remove the muddy jacket from the bathtub without hurting his friend.

The zipper crawled roughly across Naruto's cheeks, and he yelled, tears coming to him eyes, and he pulled his knees to him, curling and sobbing at the same time, pain lancing through his small frame.

The bath water began to churn as the blonde thrashed weakly, spilling some of the towels scattered around the edges.

Once the jacket was gone, Sasuke hissed in anger.

The other's lower body was far worse than the rest of him, and bruises and welts were certain to remain, spread around his hips and member, cuts leading around to his backside, which the raven knew better than to try to inspect.

"Please. No!" Naruto wept when the Uchiha began to run a soft washcloth over his abused skin, soap left of the counter until the wounds were treated.

Thinking of what he'd said earlier, Sasuke began to hum again, moving the rag in small, gentle circles on the blonde's bruised hips and sides, barely even getting any dirt off he was so slow. He smiled at how the other's whimpers began to die down, replaced by a whisper.

"Help."

"I'm right here Naruto. I'm not going to leave," the raven murmured, leaning over to grasp one of the other's hands in his pale fingers, rubbing the back with his thumb, in time with the cloth. The blonde whined one last time, melting into silence and staring at Sasuke with wide eyes, wondering.

"I'm right here," he repeated, watching Naruto quiet down and look at him with less than panic-filled pupils.

"Sasuke?" The glazed look in the blue faded a tiny bit.

"Yes?" The Uchiha murmured back, continuing to move the rag comfortingly across his stomach, pausing to look up at Naruto.

Tears were drying up at the corners of the blonde's eyes, and he looked down at the water by his head, gripping Sasuke's hand tighter.

"I'm sorry."

Onyx eyes blinked, surprised.

"For what?"

The golden haired teen closed his own eyes, a last tear trekking down his bruised face, and whispered, "For….being a burden."

'_What the…?' _Sasuke wondered, blinking again, staring at Naruto.

"You're not a burden Naruto. I never should've said anything. I'm…" he swallowed his dignity for the second time, "I'm sorry."

Sapphire eyes opened, wider than the raven had ever seen them, and looked up at him, sparkling and scared, glistening with tears.

"Don't cry."

He reached up, hesitating when the blonde stiffened, but kept going, wiping underneath the bright blue orbs, clearing the beginning of the drops with his thumb.

Then, leaving it at that, hoping the other wouldn't think he was lying, he turned and went back to washing Naruto's stomach, softly rubbing.

The hurt boy mumbled something Sasuke couldn't hear. He paused and asked, "Hmm?"

"I said it feels nice. Thanks." A faint blush rose to Naruto's cheeks, and he kept his eyes on the pinkish water, dyed lightly by run-off blood from his wounds.

"Mmhm," the raven accepted, nodding slowly once, then carefully moved on to the blonde's shoulders.

They both had pink tinges on their faces, and kept their eyes apart, as the silence stretched on longer, growing comfortable to both teens.

As the Uchiha went on the wash the blonde's chest, he noted the peaceful and warm look in Naruto's eyes and face, the faint blush barely there, just enough to remind them both what the situation was, as if the bruised body and sopping wet clothes weren't enough.

Sasuke nearly dropped the cloth when the hurt teen whispered, "What happened?"

"Err-You're asking me?" He winced at how rude it sounded. How harsh.

Clearing his throat, he reiterated, "I thought you knew."

"No, I mean after I freaked out. What happened?"

"Kakashi took us back and Tsunade gave me the key to the elevator. Then you woke up."

"Oh. Okay," he left it at that, and Sasuke fidgeted, wondering what he was going to do once he finished Naruto's chest and neck. He didn't want to upset him again, and to ask would be close to torture.

"Hey, Sasuke?" He started again, keeping his hands moving as he answered, "Yes?"

"Can you was my back too?"

The raven stopped, looking at the blonde and he felt himself nodding, a look of worry concealed behind his 'mask'.

"Will you be alright if I do? You'd have to sit or stand up."

"I'll stand," he whispered, averting his eyes.

The silence preceded them yet again, and the blonde began to wonder just why Sasuke had saved him. The Uchiha, on the other hand, was wondering how Naruto was feeling, and how where he would sleep. He moved down to wash the legs, and hesitated.

Should he?

It wasn't going to magically stay clean, and he should probably assume that Naruto couldn't reach down to help, what with the slashes on his back and sides.

'_Shit. I didn't think about this. Should I ask, or just do it…maybe skip it unless he tells me to do it?'_

He glanced at the blonde.

Azure eyes stared back, uncertain and begging.

"Naruto….I…erm…" a blush rose headily to his cheeks and he gulped down the lump in his throat.

The golden haired boy nodded, seeming to understand, looking back away.

"Yes…sorry," he mumbled, a blush rising to his face as well, before dying back down to the regular pink tint.

Nodding and looking back, he reached towards Naruto's crotch, and proceeded to clean, just as gentle and slow, even slower, trying not to think about it.

The pressure was relieved as he moved on to the blonde's legs, and then to his feet, trying not the move him as he washed the backs of the others knees, cautious because he was so close to the backside. When he finished, he stopped, putting the rage on the rim of the tub, pausing to think.

"Sasuke?" He looked up.

'_Maybe we should wait till he's rested,' _the raven wondered, seeing the look of helplessness on the hurt boy's face.

"Do you need help to get up," he asked quietly, reaching out and gripping the hand he already held tighter.

"Yes?" the blush that appeared covered the blonde's whole face, bringing color to his paler-than-natural complexion.

As Sasuke knelt, helping the other up, he blushed too, waiting for him to be able to stand with only one hand, the other still firmly latched onto Sasuke's.

"Are you alright now?"

"Yeah. Go ahead," Naruto put his free hand flat against the white bathtub wall, supporting himself more, as the raven scooped up the rag again, and began to wash his ruined tan skin, bruised and battered, patches of dried blood mushy from the hot water that was draining down the plug.

"Hey Sasuke?" The blonde murmured, facing away from the Uchiha.

"Yes Naruto?"

"Thank you."

Sasuke tightened his hold on the other's hand, whispering, "You're welcome."

After a few moments of the silence, the raven got tired of nothing being said, and was beginning to drift, so he began to hum again, softly singing.

_What I thought wasn't mine, in the light._

_Wasn't one of a kind, a precious pearl_

_When I wanted to cry, I couldn't cause I wasn't allowed._

_Gomenesai for everything._

_Gomenesai, I know I let you down._

_Gomenesai till the end, I never needed a friend,_

_Like I do now._

_What I thought wasn't all so innocent,_

_Was a delicate doll, of porcelain._

The Uchiha paused, noting how appropriate the song was, then continued.

_When I wanted to call you, _

_And ask you for help, I stopped myself._

_Gomenesai for everything._

_Gomenesai, I know I let you down._

_Gomenesai till the end, I never needed a friend,_

_Like I do now._

_What I thought was a dream, a mirage,_

_Was as real as it seemed, a privilege._

_When I wanted to tell you, I made a mistake,_

_I walked away._

_Gomenesai for everything._

_Gomenesai, I know I let you down._

_Gomenesai till the end, I never needed a friend,_

_Like I do now._

He trailed off, and started again, only humming now, the words unspoken and the bathroom was quiet except for this and the silent sound of the warm, soft cloth moving slowly over bruised and beaten skin. They both just listened to the tune, and when Sasuke was done with the blonde's back, He squeezed the water over the golden spikes of the other's hair.

"Do you want boxers, or just sweats and a shirt?" Sasuke asked, grabbing a black towel from beside the white porcelain tub, and wrapping it around Naruto's waist, gently tying it with the wrap at the corner.

The blonde just stayed quiet, and Sasuke squeezed the hand he held, asking again, louder.

"Just sweats," he whispered groggily. The raven peeked around at his face.

Naruto's eyes were closed, and he had a light pink tint to his cheeks, as he mumbled, "Don't stop. It felt good."

A smile breached the Uchiha's defenses yet again, and he whispered, "Dobe…" to himself, wrapping his other arm gently around the blonde's shoulders.

"Sasuke?" was the startled reply, his sapphire eyes snapping open, fear approaching.

"Shhshsh—just me. It's just me," Sasuke soothed, slowly unwrapping his fingers from the other's hand, and scooped him up carefully in his arms, smiling again when the blonde relaxed, tension released from his body, head falling against the raven's chest, which was nearly all dry now.

He went back out into the real room, laying down another towel awkwardly before putting Naruto on the bed.

"One sec," he whispered, and went over to his dresser, tugging out two pairs of clothes, black sweats and light grey shirts.

He got back to the blonde, who was almost asleep, and nudged him, making him stay awake long enough for the raven to slowly pull the clothes onto his body, awkwardness forgotten in the necessity of the task at hand.

"Sasuke?" a small voice mumbled from the bed, when he pulled the sheets and blankets on over the small body of the blonde, and crawled in next to him, leaving the light on.

"Yes Naruto?"

"Why did you help me?" It was the question he'd dreaded to ask, for fear of the reply.

A breath was stretched, and the blonde glanced at the other.

Obsidian eyes gleamed brightly in the shallow lamp light.

"Sasuke?"

A tiny smile was born on the raven's face.

"Because you mean a lot to me, dobe," he whispered, and then tugged the covers up over both of them further, finishing, "get some rest."

Stunned blue eyes shone with tears, and the wounds on his body seemed faded, as Naruto reached over and touched the back now facing him, spreading his palm flat.

"Yes Naruto?" came the patient reply.

"You're my best friend."

The firm back pressed lightly back against his hand, silent acceptance.

* * *

**_Sasuke doesn't have super strength in the beginning, but terror and fury give people remarkable powers, I've found…_**

**_Thank you friends, critics, reviewers! I love you all! _**

**_However friendly and sweet they might seem right now, I want you all to keep in mind—they are not sexy friends right now;)_**

**_Forgive me! I know, I know! It will happen, I swears!_**

**_Okay. So. Yes. I updated._**


	2. The Story

_**Hello to all my peeps and peepetts. How are yooouu? I'm okay, other than the fact that I was grounded since august and the fact that I managed to update at all is a fabulous mystery to me. I truly hope you will like this and forgive me for doing this to poor Naruto. I know. I love our Blondie too. I wish it wasn't necessary for the plot. I am so sorry**__**!**_

'If Today was Your Last Day' by Nickleback (-I'm now dedicating songs to each chapter!)

* * *

Four hours before the happenings of the previous chapter:

_Naruto walked down the hallway, frowning, unease stirring in the pit of his stomach. He was just walking, probably going to wind up over at Sasuke's dorm, knocking on the door and finally confirming whether or not he was right._

'_Sasuke does hate you, you know. He says it all the time behind your back.'_

'_We despise you.'_

'_Jesus, you little fucker, just get lost!'_

'_You're nothing but a huge burden, you fucking demon!'_

_He blinked hard, hoping they were wrong. At first, he'd firmly refused to believe them, but now that it'd simmered in him for awhile, he felt his mind betraying him._

_Suddenly, overwhelmed with a need to be reassured, on the verge of throwing up, Naruto began to run full throttle up the hall, towards the raven's room._

_Whispers grew in his heart, heavy and weighing him down with hatred._

'_We all wish you'd just go away and die!'_

'_Demon bastard!'_

'_Damn fox!'_

_He sucked in a shuddering breath, and rounded the last corner, turning into Sasuke's hall._

_He slammed into a solid back, and sent both him and the other person flying into the open laundry room door._

"_Damn it, Naruto!" Onyx eyes glared up at him, slitted and angry._

_His face was covered in the raven's dark navy blue boxers, various tufts of his golden hair pushing their way clear of the leg holes, standing obstinately into the air._

"_What the hell?" The Uchiha teen growled, shoving the blonde off of him, into the laundry room, sending him to roll and slam against the washer, boxers flying off his head and into the air._

_Sasuke gathered the rest of his clothes, tightfisted with irritation, and then turned, still glaring at the boy in front of him._

"_Sorry Sasuke," Naruto mumbled, and he sat up, bracing himself, then stood, grabbing the dark boxers from the floor. He brushed them off, then turning to look back at the other._

"_God, I wish you'd just get lost! I don't have time for this shit!" Sasuke growled, thinking of the projects he had due the next day, and not noticing the widening of Naruto's sapphire blue eyes, bewildered and hurt, horror-confirmed._

"_I said I was sorry," the blonde replied with a weak whisper, fidgeting with the soft fabric in his hands._

_His heart was beating harshly against the ribcage, and his mind was racing, hoping that Sasuke didn't _really _hate him, as the dark-haired boy growled again, slamming his fist into the dryer, sending it back into the wall, and shouted, "God, just get lost, Uzumaki!"_

_The blonde snapped his head up, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he took another shuddery breath, gasping._

"_Get lost, moron!" Sasuke finally yelled, exasperated, thinking that the blonde would just yell back as normal._

_More tears stared to burn and Naruto's face heated._

_The raven didn't expect for the other to suddenly have tears streaming down his face, eyes growing wider, throwing his boxers at him and pushing past, running away down the hall._

_The glare dropped from his face, and he stared after the blonde, his mouth slightly agape._

"_What the fuck," he murmured, looking back with a frown at his blue boxers, his own unease growing slowly._

_He wasn't sure what'd just happened, only that the small seventeen-year-old had to be put off until he got some work done._

_Feeling guilty, he put the underwear shorts on the top of his pile, heading back to his dorm, still frowning._

* * *

'_Get lost, moron!' rang in his ears, taunting him, as the blonde fled, sprinting down the hallway, farther and farther away from his best friend, his heart aching. Fury pulsed faintly beneath the surface of his skin, mingling with the overwhelming sense of hurt, making the tears that slid down his face all the hotter._

_He tasted salt, and turned the corner._

_Plowing through a small group of people, he didn't register the yell of anger over his intrusion. He couldn't even hear them over the pounding of his pulse in his head, dizzying and agonizing._

_As he neared the elevator, he blindly switched routes, going towards the massive staircase that wound up the centre of the boys dorm building._

'_Get lost, moron!'_

_Slamming the door open, he began to sprint up the steps, stomach churning with nausea._

_He knew that one sentence shouldn't affect him so deeply, that he'd survived too much to let __**this **__hurt him so much, that it didn't matter, and that he'd expected it. But 'it' was all lies, and that pained him the most._

_Finally caving in, Naruto gave his thumping heart over to his mind, letting the years of hatred slam down onto it._

'_We all hate you!'_

'_He hates you too, you know!'_

'_Get lost, moron!'_

_He was only a burden._

_An unwanted pest._

_His racking sobs shook his small body, echoing faintly along with that phrase that he couldn't bear to hear anymore. He couldn't see past his tear, and the roaring in his ears blocked all sound, but he kept running. Kept going up._

_When he ran out of 'up', he pawed his way over to the roof door, grabbing around blindly for the handle._

_He slid it open, and stepped out into the wind, his golden-topped head standing firmly out against the black top of the roof._

_The blonde raised his face to the angry grey clouds above, and let his tears fall freely, rain drops starting to sprinkle._

"_It's not fair," he sobbed, putting his face in his hands, falling to his knees and then completely sitting down, thinking about all the times he'd been pranked, beaten, cursed, spit on, and rejected from restaurants just because of who he was._

'_Why is it just me?' he asked himself, just like so many times before._

_Before what?_

_Before him. Before one year ago, when he was getting kicked around like a soccer ball by three guys, and another shadow then appeared in the alleyway. He'd nearly been unconscious again, screaming for them to please stop. For them to have mercy._

_Sasuke had showed up, putting all of his tormentors out of service, helping him up, and asking him if he'd be alright._

'_He didn't have to do that,' Naruto thought, trying to reason with himself, 'maybe he was just upset or something.'_

_Then he recalled the look in the other's eyes._

_More tears shook his body continuously, and he let the grief wash over him, repeating to himself, "Idiotidoitidoitidoit! I can't believe I let someone in that deep!" He choked out these words, trying to keep breathing._

_Then, something inside his heart turned to ash, and he rubbed his eyes, standing roughly up._

_He looked over at the roof ledge, thinking slowly._

_Then, he started to walk._

* * *

_Sasuke flipped over onto his stomach, wincing as it rumbled, empty. He could smell pasta through the dorm vents, ramen and spaghetti drifting down to torture him._

_Then he remembered Naruto again, and groaned._

"_Damn," he muttered, fisting his pale fingers his raven hair, tugging until the pain in his gut went away, relocating to his head._

'_Why was he crying?' he wondered for the umpteenth time, staring up at the ceiling, fists still on his scalp, locked around patches of his dark hair, and kept tugging, his head starting to ache. He moaned again, thinking of his blonde friend._

_The dimly lit room echoed of Naruto's scent, and of his 'not-there-ness'._

_Lately, the blonde had even taken to putting a few shirts in Sasuke's drawers, sleeping on the black leather couch that was in the corner, curled up with one of Sasuke's blue pillows, a sheet thrown over him by the raven after he fell asleep doing study work._

_The dark haired teen sat up and growled, then stood and walked around, beginning to pace. He stopped himself._

'_Why am I so damn worried?' he thought, irritated. He hadn't paced in over eight months._

_Then, still agitated, he wondered if maybe Naruto had had a fight and needed some comfort….no. The blonde knew he wasn't that kind of guy…_

_Sasuke winced, recalling several times when he _had_ been that 'kind-of-guy', when the blonde had really needed him to be._

_Finally, snarling silently to himself, the raven stormed out of his room, grabbing his keys and locking the door._

_He headed past the laundry room, in the direction of the commons, grey socked feet pounding harshly on the beige carpet that covered the hallway floors._

* * *

_The teen slumped against the store wall, tears running silently down his face._

_Fat drops of rain really began to come down, as Naruto kept moving, pushing gently away from the support of the bricks. He whimpered, and stood straight, his heart weighty and his feet like clay._

'_I don't have anything left to take,' he thought wearily, his blue eyes clouded to a dull grey, sad and distant._

"_I never should've let someone in that deep," he whispered, a sob cracking, as he went stumbling over a stray brick, and braced himself with his hand against the next building, blinking when it leaned._

_Naruto stepped back, careful to avoid the brick this time, and looked up groggily, more tears streaking nakedly down his face._

_He'd pressed against a small shack that was leaning out into the street, sagging against a few nails and swaying slightly in the wind._

_Naruto blinked again, drunken on the salt from his crying._

'_Never should've let _him_ get so close to me. Never should've…' his thoughts trailed off, registering the shack, and searched tiredly for some sort of entry point._

_A small opening, supposedly a window in a past life, was gaping at the blonde through a few rotted boards, like a blind eye searching for light and color._

_Thunder boomed overhead, and the boy flinched, heading slowly and carefully to the window, looking inside as he neared it._

_There wasn't anything but dust and a jar inside as far as he could tell, empty and forgotten._

_He shambled up closer to the opening, poking his head through the middle boards. A dirty sheet was hanging from a nail in the wall._

_The floor had a hole in it, but was otherwise dry. He tried twice to summon enough energy, then, on the third time, climbed gently into the shack._

_The blonde sagged against the far wall, and sighed, trying to get a hold on his still streaming tears, sniffling._

'_Never…never...' he began again, his eyes drooping, finally closing, a few last tears running down._

* * *

_The raven began to truly panic around nine thirty, pacing his room yet again._

"_Where the hell could he freakin' be?"Sasuke muttered darkly to himself, still walking a trail in his room._

_He slammed his fist against the bookcase, and stomped over to the bathroom that was part of his room. Sitting down on the lid of the toilet, he yanked on his shoes, and grabbed his jacket angrily from the door hook, cursing as he looked in the wide mirror._

_He looked like a ghost. A very worried, frantic ghost._

_Glaring at himself, he growled, and snatched his keys from the counter next to the spare, which he looked at for a long moment, remembering the day he'd gotten that made._

_He and Naruto had decided that the blonde could be trusted with a key and that he might need to escape sometime, so they both traipsed down to the office and filed for another one, Naruto joking the whole time down, laughing at Sasuke's glares and evil stares, so much that he even got the raven to smile once._

'_Why do I only smile around _him?_' Sasuke wondered, tearing his gaze away and opening the door._

_His sneakers made a loud exit down the hallway, as he locked his door, going to find his friend._

_He'd find Naruto._

_Somehow._

* * *

_Naruto groaned, shoving himself away from the filthy rag of a sheet that he had put on his lower half, nose not withstanding. Then, re-settling his tired body, he paused, listening to the thunder that rang out high above the shack where he rested._

"_I wonder if anyone even knows I'm gone," he whispered, thinking of Iruka and Kakashi._

_Then, remembering Tsunade, he almost felt bad for leaving without a word. Sooner or later they'd find out he'd left._

_A part of him hoped they'd think of him soon, but he also knew that the old blonde woman had more important things to think about than him._

_He sniffed, determined not to break down again, thinking about how he'd probably never see any of them again. He didn't want to think about it, so he just listened, glancing out the broken window, up to the clouds._

_Lightning had it's bright fingers curled happily around the black sky, flashing it's might through them and squeezing harshly, illuminating the shack for a brief moment._

'_I wonder if even God despises me,' he thought, turning back to the small room, and resting his cheek against the cool wood again, as he heard yet more thunder blast around like a pin-pong ball over head, a baseball in a lightning arena, the bats shining and sparking with hot electricity._

"_Probably," he murmured, and closed his eyes for a moment._

_He replayed the evening with a heavy heart, finally acknowledging that he just didn't have the emotional and mental strength to go back to that life, this time without anyone beside him to protect and help him along._

_Suddenly, he wished he'd brought Sasuke's spare key, if only to have a piece of the raven with him always, as a reminder of what he thought was real. If only to have a fragment of his imaginary friend._

_Then, with a start, Naruto recalled that this wasn't the safest place to be falling asleep, having already ventured far past any decent place in town, out towards the druggy part, where the bad dealers and users got caught in their own webs, trapped without an income and forced to hole up in shacks like this one._

'_In shacks like _this_ one,' he realized with another jolt, and sat upright quickly, his weary muscles protesting silently, aching from his long run and from his emotional breakdown._

_He took out his phone, flipping it open and saw what time it was._

_Ten fifty._

_He sighed in relief. If anyone 'lived' here, they most likely would've been in it by now, waking him up or kicking him out._

_The blonde moaned, standing, as he yawned, wondering where he should go now that he'd officially left._

"_It's legal for me to get a job, if I keep my identity a secret from my boss, I guess," he muttered, hands on his hips and face twisted in thought. He knew that he'd have to leave town. Deep down, where his heart wasn't happy anymore, he knew that if he saw Sasuke around town, he wouldn't be able to hold if together._

_He knew he had to run now, because him running full tilt away from his job later wouldn't be explainable._

_As the thunder overhead roared again, the golden haired boy walked over to a boarded up door, and tried to kick it down, only succeeding partially. The bottom half came off and he ducked out into the rain, become soaked almost instantly. He washed his mouth out, and swallowed a little water, before looking around through the downpour, fog not yet risen, the ground still clearly visible, not yet flooded._

_While he listened and looked, Naruto sensed someone watching him. He felt a cold chill go up his spine, as he turned and met hard green eyes, as they looked away, towards a different pair, which were also looking at him._

_He shivered, and glanced away, beginning to edge away, slowly down the street._

'_Who are they? What do they want? Nobody down here knows I'm the Kyuubi, right? So what?' he asked himself a little scared, trying to seem calm, old tears melting off his cheeks, salt washed away by the rain._

_Lightning flashed above, and illuminated his face for a moment, reflecting the fear there. He heard a low chuckle, and walked faster._

_Then, without warning, he began to sprint away, trying to escape the man he knew was behind the huge building behind him._

"_Where do you think _you're _going?" Growled a deep voice, as a hand snatched his shirt at the back, lifting him and tossing him across the street, screeching when his head landed harshly against the sidewalk that was crumbling and falling apart._

"_Get up, you monster!" the other man yelled, his voice barely audible over the pang of thunder that was let loose._

_Naruto grunted slowly, trying to feel if anything was broken. In the back of his pained mind, he knew he had to get away as quickly as possible._

"_I said _get up!"_ The man shouted again, coming closer, grinning as the blonde scrambled away, fearful._

"_W-what do y-you want?" Naruto asked quietly, and shuddered when the men cracked their knuckles, still grinning eerily._

"_To kill the Kyuubi, you damn bastard fox!" He got closer yet, beckoning to the man with the green eyes to come too._

"_Come on Hitai, Seri. Let's get it!"_

_The poor blonde backed up hastily, as the other two men approached, smiling down at him with their cruel faces._

"_Please, don't do this," he begged, his back bumping into a wall, he shifted, and stumbled, going downhill, into an alleyway. He gulped, turning his head. There was a dead end._

"_Please," he pleaded again, and kept going down, rain running rivulets between his feet, and streaming down his face, mingling with fresh tears, these fearing and sad, hopeless._

"_I'm gonna enjoy this!" one of the men growled, walking down after him, motioning for the others to follow. They did, grinning maniacally by now, chuckling, their voices drowned out by the rain and thunder, lightning dancing ballet across the skies above._

"_Please, don't," he asked again, his voice cracking._

_The tears overwhelmed his bravery, little as time had whittled it down to._

_They ran freely down his face._

"_Aww, look! The monster's crying," the man called Seri called, laughing at Naruto, elbowing his friend,_

"_Yeah, come on beastie, bawl!" Hitai cackled, nodding and laughing along with his pal._

"_Help," the blonde murmured, more to himself than anyone, flinching visibly when he remembered that no one was ever going to help him again. Then, his back bumping into the alley wall,_

"_Please," he choked on tears, "Please help me. Someone."_

_The men closed in and the first one, name still unknown, grabbed the small teen's shoulder, thrusting him back, hard against the brick._

_Naruto grunted, and tried to get free, but the hand clenched painfully, and he cried out, his head slammed into the wall again._

"_Please!" he yelled out, the last of his voice before he was thrown into another of the men, who slammed their fists both into his sides, and a sickening crack was smothered by the next boom of thunder._

_Naruto's scream, however, rang out clearly, echoing down the boulevards and up other alleyways, scaring a stray dog who was nosing around under a porch._

_The other men grinning, and chuckled again, demanding a turn with the 'monster'._

_The blonde yelled over and over, each wail shorter and shallower than the last, each with a shred of his willpower fading into the ashes that was his heart, broken by too many harsh words and glares._

_Soon he was silent, only giving an occasional grunt and whoosh of breath, no longer resisting._

**_(Okay. I've revised it. It was bothering me, this part. So I've decided to edit it out. If you have a rape fetish, your sick. Anyone who loves Naru-chan should be glad, and you don't have to know what he went through. From the above sentencce to when Sasuke got there will now be referred to as the unspeakable hour.)_**

* * *

_The raven had his socks and shoes sopping wet, and he looked like a very wet, very worried, very mad ghost, pale face melting the rain drops around him into steam, burning through the murk to look at the empty street._

_His umbrella had been forsaken when the lightning struck a nearby building._

_He'd immediately decided that staying dry was not a concern._

_So, he'd dropped his -metal- shield and kept going, soaked within mere moments._

"_Damn it," he whispered, rain drowning his voice._

'_Where is he? He couldn't have gone that far.'_

_He'd searched the _entire _dorm building, gone over to the other university buildings, searched _them,_ and still found nothing. Then, asking around, he found that the blonde had been seen leaving the campus at eight forty, walking into town._

_So then, just as determined, a new fire in his eyes, Sasuke had gone there, umbrella still with him._

_And then, finding nothing _still,_ he'd asked around again, and heard that a person fitting the description headed out into the hardly used parts of the city._

'_What was he thinking? Does he have a fucking _death wish?_' The raven ranted to himself in his mind._

_Then, seeing a light on down the road, Sasuke began to walk again, over that way now._

"_Hello?" He called lightly over the rain, and then stopped, listening. He could barely hear voices talking inside. He crept up to the open door, light spilling out._

"_Yeah, I heard that the damned Kyuubi wandered through here a little while back, stumblin' around, lookin' like 'e was cryin'," a deep voice growled over the low din of rain._

"_Heard that he went down into the slums, just walkin' around. Damned monster," growled another, and Sasuke seethed silently, restraining himself because he needed to hear more._

"_Oh, that guy? Yeah, I heard him mumblin' somethin'. I wasn't eight feet from the guy. He was whimperin' an' cryin', sayin', 'Of course it was fake,' and then, 'Of course I wasn't his friend.' I just ignored 'im, an' came ov'r to get a beer," a different person piped up, and the raven outside stiffened, and his chest tightened._

"_Friend? Things like that think they've got friends?" the first man cackled and the dark-haired teen outside growled lowly, and the talk inside quieted, a man murmuring something to the other._

_Sasuke waited for them, bracing himself. When the first one leapt through the open window, the raven's pale fingers wrapped tightly around his fat neck, and drove him to the ground, growling again as the man grunted and wriggled in his firm grasp._

_Then, the others emerging from the hanging door, he turned his back to the old wall and held the man up, putting a semi-sharp fingernail up to his eye, threatening._

_The man gulped, and wriggled more for a moment, before he lay limp, rapped on the head by a stick, awaiting his imminent doom from the young teen that release him, prepared to wait until the others backed off._

"_Where did you say he went," Sasuke breathed into the man's ear, his air nearly cut off by the tightening of his heart in his chest._

'_Wasn't Naruto's friend? Why would he…' realization struck the raven like a hammer in the stomach, knocking him breathless. He gasped, and his fists loosened with the sudden shock._

_He'd yelled at the blonde. He had told the blonde to get lost. Called him stupid. A moron. Sasuke felt all his worry wither into poison in his gut, and he felt his eyes swimming with tears, ready to cry._

_It was his fault Naruto was out here._

_Wasn't it?_

_He growled and slammed the man against the building, yelling when the other two men snuck up on him and grabbed him from behind, crashing their fists into his sides._

_Pain screamed through him, and he thought he heard a very faint snap, as his vision went white for a moment._

_Sasuke remembered the kitsune's face when he'd yelled at him, and a choked sob escaped his throat, despair welling up in his stomach._

_He knew that he had to find his friend._

_He had to help him._

_Had to keep his promise._

"_Where. Is. Naruto." He got up, punctuating each word with a fist, rammed into a different man's gut each time._

_He kept hitting, jamming his fingers into one man's eye sockets, blood flowing down his fingers as his nails dug in purposefully, scratching and making the other wail in agony._

"_Who's Nar—Uhnn!"A sharp blow to the ribs cut him off, sending him to the ground, splashing into one of the deeper puddles, sputtering as Sasuke yanked him back up to meet his onyx black eyes, cold and hard as tears spilled from them, loss and worry streaming down his face._

"_The blonde. Where is he? Which way?" He sucked in a shuddering breath, and cast his gaze around, thinking maybe the others would fess up._

_Nope._

_He rammed the man into the soaked gravel, flakes of mud and sand clinging to him as he came up, coughing._

"_Please! Wait!" Sasuke glared expectantly, waiting, one fist poised directly in front of his face. The man spewed blood and bile from his throat, ribs broken and a leg twisted at an unnatural angle._

_The raven scowled deeper, shaking him to speak, relentless and fretting on the inside for his best friend, scared he was too late._

_Sasuke Uchiha hadn't been so terrified since the day his parents died, ten or eleven years ago. He swallowed mouthful of fresh rain and listened carefully to the man hanging by his hair._

"_He went off into the slum part of town. The north corner. That way," he pointed and coughed more blood up, as he was tossed to the side._

_Sasuke bent down face to face and murmured over the rain, "You had better be telling my the truth, you worthless piece of scum-talking shit!"_

_Having retrieved te information, the raven stood an looked up at the endless black sky, beginning towards the bad 'slump' part of town, heaving his sides as he ran, ignoring the minor bruises and cuts from the skirmish. He coughed, spitting out the red liquid with distaste, and kept running._

_'I've got to reach him in time,' was his only thought as his feet slammed against the soaked concrete, the sound echoing dimly under the rain's roaring._


	3. Waking Up

'Until the End' by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

I watched as he slept, wincing as he shifted lightly. Worry was clouding my face, and I knew I couldn't do much for him when he was asleep. I had to wait till he awoke.

The news caster in front of me was going on about some child going missing in New York. Some Senator's kid. I glanced at the picture.

_Damn. He's...really ugly._

(Good ol' Uchiha charm!)

The noises from outside my dorm were getting louder, and I turned down the television, listening with my head cocked. They passed, and I cut the screen off completely, turning to get up and wake the still slumbering blonde under my sheets. Hesitantly, I rested my hand on his hair, kneeling next to his side of the bed. He groaned and I hid the frantic look on my face behind my usual mask. He shifted again, putting more of his sunshine colored head into my palm. I let myself smile that one smile that for some reason, only he could bring me.

Then, cautious, I put my other hand flat on his shoulder and muttered, "Hey Naruto. Wake up."

He mumbled something and shook his head. I scowled and fought down the urge to yell. How dare he sleep when I was eating myself alive with worry. He shifted and his face was clear then. I let my frustrated breath go as I saw his features, digging my fingers softly into his locks, massaging his head. His cheeks were definitly going to scar. He had...whiskers.

I smiled, and then felt the guilt begin to barracade me in my mind again, along with that nagging sensation that it was infact, my complete fault this had happened to him. I started shaking, retreating back to sit on the couch, putting my head in my hands and knew the tears that came wouldn't roll somenly down my cheeks. They never did.

_Except last night._

I flinched away from the voice in my head.

_Except when you thought you might lose him._

Blocking those thoughts, raised my eyes and started to watch him sleep.

The fan above us shifted my window's curtain to the right and the new sunlight hit his face, making me hiss again with angst. The bruises lining his neck were black and green, not a pretty color. He groaned slightly and turned, hesitating when his back moved.

A finger twitched erraticaly, and his eye lids moved rapily, the actual eye underneath shifting aswell.

I sat straighter, sensing his discomfort.

He whined, a low pitched sound that carried a chill down my spine, just as it had the last two times. I stood and stepped closer by a few inches. He whimpered and I got even nearer, worried yet again, the brief reprieve over.

_Not again. Please God not again._

I winced as another low whine echoed around my dark dorm room, lit only by the faint sunlight coming through the slit in the curtain.

_Oh no._

He began to toss his head, slowly at first, and then faster. I knelt by the bed and grabbed the hand that stuck out from under the covers, rubbing the back and palm almost frantically.

_Nononono._

It was Naruto that'd suffered last night, but I was suffering now.

I had to cope with being the cause of my best friend being beaten, raped, and almost dying.

I _had_ been at last ninety-nine point nine percent at fault, I knew. The other point one percent was the others. The ones who did it.

The tears that never spilled came to my eyes, and my other hand found his temple, stroking it quickly. He began to whimper quietly.

"Naruto? Baka, wake up!" I murmured, still rubbing his hand. He moaned, shifting and crying out softly when his butt ground into the bed. It'd happened twice that night. His forehead was getting hotter against my thumb and he was beginning to sweat profusely.

I swallowed, hoping it would stop before he started to scream. Not the screaming. I didn't know if I could handle it a sixth time in two days.

I hung my head, swallowed again, and looked back up at the sound of another whine. I thought back briefly to the last two times since we'd gone to bed.

Once when he'd woken to find me curled up next to him, shirt riding up to my shoulders against his hand, face dangerously close to his, but personally, I think he'd just freaked a little then. But the second time was for real. He'd had an episode just like this when his ass had thrusted-by mistake, of course-against my bent knee, awakening the memories.

"No, please. Just no!" He started to whisper madly into his arm, which had snaked it's way up against his face, pressing on his mouth, his other hand was still firmly in my pale grip, though struggling faintly now.

I tightened my hold on his hand, trying not to squeeze to hard because his wrists were sliced by who-knows-what. He whined yet again, and then it really started.

"Please," It began quietly, "Please stop. Someone help me!" His legs bent and he whimpered, his own grip lackening. I gulped, hardly prepared.

His arms twitched, and then a muffled cry erupted from beneath his bruised arm, strangled and loud, "Help! No! No more, please! Help!"

I felt my tears barraging me from my inner human, but the seventeen years worth of pride had built up quite the immpressive blockade, and I swallowed past the lump in my throat, hoping he wouldn't begin to scream.

He did.

"Help! No! Get off! Ngh-no! Help! Sasuke help! Help me, please!" His face twisted and I looked away, no longer able to help it. The sight of him writhing like this was...difficult to bear. Even for an Uchiha.

Especially for me.

I hadn't ever felt so horrible for calling someone an idiot, and for a moment, the absurditity of it nearly tossed me into hysterical laughter. But of course...who am I? Sasuke Uchiha. _Uchiha._ They never laugh, cry, or smile.

_Ha! I broke all three rules in twenty-four hours,_ I thought crazily as I let out a tiny chuckle just so it'd be out of me. Then, summoning my courage, I looked strongly back at the now thrashing blonde teen. His bruises stood boldly out against his otherwise heated skin, that sweated and shone.

The sun slid through the widened gap between the curtains, spread by the fan.

I could see his pupils moving under his lids and I grasped his shoulder, beginning to hum. It always seemed to tranquilize him somewhat.

Suddenly, to my relief, Naruto sat straight up in my bed, screaming (Not to my relief) and shouted, "SASUKE HELP ME!"

I leapt up and grabbed his other hand, and took his fragile form, sobbing loudly, into my arms, trying to calm him.

"Shh. Dobe. I'm right here. Right here. They can't ever hurt you again. Ever. You're safe. Safe."

I don't think I've ever spoken so much in one breath in my ENTIRE lifetime. And all to one person too.

Big week for us.

* * *

**_Hello! yes, my fans, I am so sorry this bit is so short, but I was immeresed in something else and had to get this out b4 my real summer hits because i probably won't be updating majorly until i get back from moms in September. I am sorry, but still, I hope you liked it._**

**_REVIEW!_**


	4. Lifeline

_**Okaydi! How are u guys. It's a miracle im even doing this, so I gotta be fast. Sorry it's so short. Will make up 4 it. Love ya. Enjoy!**_

'Rainin' You' by Brad Paisley

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes the first time, he was screaming, being held by the best friend he'd thought to be fake. He clung desperately, crying into Sasuke's chest, and passed out again as his body pounded with pain.

Darkness enveloped him, and for awhile it was pleasant, a reprieve from his hurts. Then, growing malicious and mean, the shadows snuck around him, teasing and poking, each touch sending sudden and unexpected bolts of agony into his small dream body. He woke in a sweat, screaming again. His heart beat like a rabbit's, as dark blobs moving around him, as if he was in a lava lamp.

Voices blurred in the background, and a hand reached out to his face, cool and gentle, calming him.

Another pain made him shriek louder, and he went back to darkness, the horrible hours from before rising up like acid in his mind.

He couldn't talk, he couldn't move, and after awhile, the pain was just another blow, numbed by his hazy memories. He finally sunk into a blurry half-sleep, and heard voices surrounding him. For the first time, Naruto noticed the warm body pressed smoothly up against his, and felt soft cloth beneath his bruised fingers, vibrating as the body spoke. He listened.

"How long until he wakes up?" The voice was deep, but also quiet, as if not wanting to be heard.

A sigh was heard, not too far from where he thought he was laying on a mattress, and he registered the beep of machinery.

Remembering suddenly how Sasuke had saved him, and put him to bed in his dorm, he peeked open his eyes. Then, as brilliant light pierced them painfully, he shut them again. The area quieted, and the warmth beside him shifted. He clung to it, and a soft laugh came to his ears.

"Naruto? You awake?" Sasuke murmured worriedly, bending further, his face barely apart from the battered blonde's own. Shaded from the fluorescent bulbs overhead, Naruto peeped his eyes open again, and blinked groggily. Shapes came into form, and he blinked again, owlish. Sasuke. He ducked his head and felt tears well up.

Thin but wiry arms looped around his small frame, hugging him closer. Lips moved in his hair, and the raven murmured, "You're safe now. I'm sorry, dobe." _I shouldn't have yelled at you. I never meant any of it. I shouldn't have taken you being there for granted._

Somehow, the blonde heard the unsaid words and his eyes closed, the tears spilling out onto the other's chest. He clutched his best friend tighter, and sobbed, pain finally reaching him from his sleep-fogged head.

As they released one another, and Sasuke let Naruto have more space on the narrow bed they were laying on, the blonde took stock of their surroundings, tears blurring, and then drying.

He could feel bandages under the blanket, and he could see coverings on his cheeks out of the bottom of his eyes, taped over the bloody streaks he remembered from his memories. Pushing his thoughts away, he looked around.

The walls were a pale yellow, and a vase of flowers were sitting on a table across the rooms.

Sunflowers.

Tsunade and Kakashi stood nearby, silent watchers. The woman looked exhausted, and the spiky locks on the silver head were somewhat droopy.

The most he could see from the small door that lead into the room was a small portion of a hospital. An IV drop stand was standing-empty-in a corner, and outside the door, a woman appeared, glasses balanced on her head, clipboard tucked under a heavily leaden breakfast tray. She knocked awkwardly and Tsunade waved her in.

As she stumbled into the small room, she set the tray down on the bed, and Sasuke drew it closer, watching Naruto carefully, like he might disappear if he looked away. She walked over to Tsunade, and began to speak softly, inaudible to the two teens on the bed.

"Naruto?" The raven next to him offered the contents of the wide tray, eyes hiding concern.

His black hair swept closer to his nose, and he shook it out of his face, glancing at Kakashi. The man came over, leaving the women to their muttering. He sat on the chair next to the bed and leaned on the wall, sighing.

"Who's that?" the dark-eyed teen asked quietly, guarded about his friend. Between them, Naruto slowly chewed on an unbuttered piece of toast. His fist was clenched firmly in the hem of Sasuke's shirt, holding to a lifeline. Inside, he was constantly concentrating on pushing down the menacing shadows in his mind. The ramen steamed in front of him, untouched. Sasuke felt his gaze soften, and worried.

"It' the owner and manager of the hospital, Shizune. She's been overseeing Naruto's medication and bandaging, so Tsunade requested to speak to her," he laughed softly, "Well. Requested _loudly_ to speak to her. More like ordered."

The raven nodded, satisfied. He was closely watching his best friend, and noticed him forcefully swallow the wad of thoroughly chewed bread, a blank stare on his scarring face. Then, as she nodded, Shizune walked over to the three men and looked at her clipboard, squinting.

"Naruto, you'll need to take these," she dug a small bottle of capsules from her pocket and glanced back at Sasuke, opting to hand them to him instead, sensing his invisible intentions if she had reached over at the blonde instead.

She planned to kept her fingers, thank you.

Then, coughing gently, she looked back at the board, digging out two larger bottles and one long tube of antibiotics.

She explained at length that it would have to be reapplied each day at least twice. More if Naruto absolutely had to move around. But he shouldn't for at least a week. She prescribed bed rest for three weeks, and asked if the blonde had a dorm mate who could help out.

Naruto, who'd stared numbly at his toast throughout the whole thing, looked up as he heard his name. But before he'd even registered what she'd said, the raven took the tube and bottles, answering for him.

"I can help him. He's staying with me."

The blonde's eyes widened and he whispered something that only Sasuke heard. The Uchiha answered back quietly, shaking his head and dismissing whatever the other had objected to.

"Okay, well then. That's it I suppose. Naruto, you can check out tomorrow, just as soon as we can prepare enough wrappings for you to take with you. I hope you get well soon," she nodded to each of them in turn and left. Tsunade came over to the door and shut it, eyeing the blonde afterwards.

"Sasuke?" she asked, a strane tone to her voice.

The dark eyes glanced at her and she continued.

"Are you sure he shouldn't stay with one of us?"

For the first time since Sasuke had let the blonde out of his arms, Naruto looked wildly up, fear etched suddenly into every pore on his body.

But his voice was weak, as he whispered roughly, "No."

The raven nodded, taking the other's clenched fist in his own, and scowled at Tsunade, daring her to challenge him. She sighed and shook her head. Then, seeming to accept this, she sat down at the other chair, watching Naruto as he calmed and went back to chewing toast, albeit a little more alert.

After a little bit of their semi-strained silence, Kakashi stood and left, nodding to Sasuke and Naruto before he shut the door. Tsunade sighed again, rubbing her face. She didn't think anyone would actually say something , so she stood, watching Sasuke thinking until he noticed her stare and raised a thin charcoal- colored brow in question.

"Take care of him, brat," she walked out and the room descended once more into quiet. But now it was peaceful, and the hand on the raven's shirt unclenched, tension leaking through an invisible balloon, as they sat there together.

"Are you doing alright?" The Uchiha asked softly, concern obvious in his voice. Naruto looked up, toast sitting on the tray, half-finished. He took his hand away from the other and said, in a half-terrified voice, "You don't think I'm a burden, do you?"

Sasuke blinked, stunned. How could he think that? His gaze softened further, and he took the hand up again, shaking his shaggy, tired head. Inside, he seethed.

He'd trekked half-way across the world, it seemed like to him, only to be doubted.

The blonde looked up more, though, and there were tears in his clear, scared blue eyes. The raven sighed, and wiped them away, shaking his head again.

"How could I ever think you're a burden? You're my best friend. A stubborn little guy, and hard headed as a rock, to be sure, but not a burden." _I would never say this to anyone but you, dobe._

Again, the words were silent, but blaringly loud to both teens, as they sat there, one above the covers, and the other one pained and frightened beneath. They both clutched their lifelines.

* * *

**_(Don't know if you guys got this. I think I said it clear enough, though. Right now they're only besties. Not boyfriendies. Sorry for any unwanted confusion:)_**


	5. Going Back

_**Hey dudes. So, right now im at the public library, and I just now finished this. I have to type here to be able to get this piece of fine yaoi to you:) Enjoy. Hope u like it.**_

'Now That I've Found You" by Allison Krauss

* * *

He leaned forward, raven hair obscuring his eyes, and helped Naruto into his car.

Putting his arms securely around the blonde's bruised legs and gently wrapping him in a warm blanket, the Uchiha lifted the smaller teen into his black Volvo.

The seats were padded and there was another comfy blanket on the floorboard, as he carefully tucked his friend into a suitable position.

The past day had been tension filled, and the blonde wouldn't let anyone but Sasuke get near him when he was awake. As he slept, the raven practically hissed at anyone who came within three yards of his friend, his eyes promising a slow death.

Now, as they got buckled in and Sasuke drove them back to the school, he hummed the same tune he had before, and kept glancing at the blonde. Naruto was asleep, medicines greatly reducing his pain but knocking him out.

The raven had insisted to inject it, growling at the nurse when she tried to get at the blonde beside him. She dropped the needle on the bed and left, Naruto smiling wanly at Sasuke.

Since rejecting Tsunade's idea, he hadn't spoken. _Not once._

They pulled into an especially reserved spot that Kakashi had fenced off for them, and Sasuke hurried to go around and get Naruto. He decided to go back for the meds, gently lifting the other yet again, and walking towards his dorm.

A group of boy came out and watched Sasuke until he turned their way, glaring them into movement. He'd gone past them, kicking open the door and proceeding to the elevator nearest them. He punched the button and prayed for an empty car.

As the doors slid open, two girls stepped out, and gasped at him, scurrying past and staring when he went in. The doors shut. Naruto whimpered and shifted, his head falling deeper onto the raven's chest, golden hair brushing his bandaged cheeks.

He really is small, Sasuke thought, watching the other sleep. His face softened, and he reached up slowly to brush the hair out of the kitling's face. Small and fragile.

_I miss him smiling_, the raven realized, not for the first time.

He sighed, and walked back out, onto his floor, as the doors slid open again. Briskly, he strode over to his door and knocked with his foot. Kakashi opened up, his visible eye curving up.

"Hey Sasuke. Your keys on the bed and the notes from both your classes are going to be e-mailed to you. Anko's coming by tomorrow to check up on you. Tsunade only told her that Naruto was sick," he added when the raven scowled.

Waving off further questions, the silver-haired man walked past, and called, "If I don't go now, I won't be able to give my class any work at all. Tell the kid I hope he feels better."

Going in, Sasuke wondered at how weird it was. This whole situation.

Everywhere around him, people went on with their own, normal lives. But to him, and especially Naruto, it seemed like the world was crashing down around them, trapping them in one single moment. One terror.

He was still musing as he laid the blonde down beside the set of keys on his comforter, and went to go to the bathroom, turning a lamp on as he passed it. As he turned away from the toilet, however, he heard something. Something he dreaded.

A quiet whine was coming from his bedroom, and he zipped his pants back up quickly, sprinting out of the restroom. The low-pitched sound was coming from Naruto, and he was flicking his head around slightly, his lids moving as his eyes roved in his dream.

"Ngh…no," he whispered, his voice a dry croak from the day' disuse.

He shifted again and let out a distressed whimper when his ass ground harshly against the mattress. The raven took three long strides and was next to him, his mask fallen and a look of worry on his pale features.

"Naruto. Naruto, wake up. It's only a nightmare. Just a bad dream," he murmured gently, fingers moving quickly to stroke the other's hair from his face. He felt Naruto tense, and reluctantly removed his touch, wishing he could do more.

"Please…N-no. Stop, I'm begging you. Stop, please!"

He shrieked, and thrashed, pain ricocheting through his slight frame. Sasuke disregarded the blonde's objections and sat down next to him, wrapping his firm arms softly around the other, and cooed gently into his hair, restricting his wriggling.

"You're safe. It's only a bad dream. It's only a horrible, horrible dream," the raven repeated, and wasn't sure who he was saying it to. Him or Naruto. He began to rock back and forth, lifting the blonde into his lap and being carefully for his rear.

As they rocked together, Sasuke hummed, and felt warm splashes on his bare arms, tucking the blonde under his chin and hummed louder, as if it would chase away the horror of what his friend went through. Of what he'd made happen. He felt his own tears well up and threaten to run down his pale, angular cheeks.

Forcing the lump down his throat, the raven blinked hard and hummed even louder. The screams had stopped, and now the whimpers were fading as Naruto calmed slowly down.

"Safe. It's only a dream, Naruto." He stopped rocking, murmuring into the other's golden spikes.

"S'ske?" The thrashing died down, and blue eyes flickered open below the tears that never spilled.

"Are you awake?" the Uchiha asked as he quit humming, loosening his grip on the blonde and backing up gently, trying to look directly into the azure eyes.

They were misty and wet.

Smaller fingers gripped him and Naruto collapsed, crying quietly into Sasuke's chest.

"I can't…" he wept, pressing deeper into the raven's strong arms, trying to swallow the huge lump in his throat.

"Shh…it was just a horrible, horrible dream. You're safe. I've got you," Sasuke whispered, starting to rock him again. They sat in a silence; the only sound was the soft crying and the bed as it creaked under their movement.

"I'm sorry Sasuke," Naruto muttered after a little while, his tears drying on the other's soft black T-shirt.

"For what, dobe?"

"For mixing you up in my life," Naruto croaked, his voice telling the raven he was about to cry again.

_He cries so easily now._

"I don't get **mixed up **in anything, I—"

"Leap into whatever the hell you want to," Naruto finished for him, his cracked and dry lips breaking into a smile.

Then, silently, Sasuke pulled away just enough to put his face right in front of the blonde's. He gave him that crooked smile, and voiced the un-spoken promise he'd already made to himself.

_He'd told himself this as he carried Naruto through the storm, and as they'd driven to the hospital. He'd said it everyday, everytime he thought of the nightmare they were in._

"We'll get through this together, dobe. They can't hurt you." _Not anymore, or ever again._

The other's eyes widened, and he didn't say anything. No tears came up again. Not crying. He just stared. And Sasuke understood, shaking his head. They stared at each other, blue eyes searching the pale face.

_I'm not worth it, Sasuke._

"Lies."

_Why? How do you know? How can you possibly know for sure?_

"Truth?"

_Yes? Please?_

_"_Because you're the best friend I've ever had, dobe."

Without another word, the raven got up, gently lowering Naruto onto the bed and covering him up. He went around and got the remote, turning on the Tv and handing it to his friend.

"I'm going to go take a hot shower, okay?" _Call if you need me. For anything._

The blonde nodded, watching the other as is he wasn't real. Like he'd disappear if unobserved.

As he turned the water on, he let himself sink into the deep recesses of his mind. He stripped his clothes off and watched the mirror fog up, leaving the door cracked. Then, stepping into the hot stream, Sasuke sighed for the umpteenth time, stress leaking from him.

He leaned against the tiled wall, resting his tired body, and sunk down to the slick bottom of his tub. The raven could hear the speaker on the television as Naruto turned it up.

_"Yes, Mai. Four men were found this morning outside the local shopping center, gagged and tied up. They were immediately rushed to the hospital, only to be told they wouldn't be treated."_

Sasuke's brow raised.

"S-Sasuke!"

The high-pitched shriek came from the bedroom and he frowned. Getting up quickly and almost falling back over, the raven wrapped a towel around him, coming out at a fast slip-walk from the now steamy bathroom. He blinked and sped up. Naruto was cowering on the bed, blanket pulled up over his head, and the whole thing was quivering. The television was lighting up the area and showed four faces.

It was the men. Tthe same men who hurt Naruto.

He leapt for the wide flat screen, and searched irately for the power button. He missed, and the channel was flipped to a soap opera, and a dressed up woman cried as she stomped out of view. He sighed, and tightened the towel that was threatening to fall.

**_(Hehheh. Poor fans. Poor, poor, perverted fangirls...and perhaps fanguys;)_**

Sasuke turned around, rubbing his dripping face, and spoke softly, "Naruto? Its fine now. You can come out again. There's just some queers making drama now."

The golden head popped hesitantly back up, and blinked slowly, nodding.

"I'm gonna go back now, alright? Don't wanna get the carpet completely soaked through. Tsunade can only handle so much."

The other nodded, and tried to smile. Sasuke shook his hair again, and headed back to the still running shower. This time, as he entered, he grabbed the soap and lathered up, trying to rub the tension from his body all over again. Squeezing out shampoo, he massaged his scalp, and heard a knock at the door.

His eyes narrowed, and he heard a semi-cry of, "Sasuke?" echo from the outside. He cursed his still soapy hair and grabed the damp towel. Once again wrapping himself in it, he carefully stepped out of the tub and opened the door, signaling to Naruto to turn the TV down.

He heard the noise fade and yanked the door open, glaring at the knocker. Shikamaru gazed back, unperturbed by his hostile-ness.

For a moment though, even his silence was bathed in unvoiced laughter. He watched a thick glob of suds fall to the floor between them, and raised a brow.

"Nice hair. Here. Tsunade told me to give this to you. Troublesome, but it gets me outta class, so..." He trailed off, as if that explained everything.

The raven dropped his fury a notch or two, snatching up the thick packet that the brunette handed over. He turned and asked quietly, "So?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed again, and stared at his back, muttering, "So What?"

"Why is Tsunade sending you meds and bandages?" Shika asked, just as gently as the first time."

Not saying anything, he glanced back at his dorm, turning to Naruto with a question in his face, all anger dissolved. The blonde's eyes widened and the unsaid word echoed loudly.

_Please._

Sasuke nodded and shook his head as he turned back to Shikamaru, who was still facing away from him.

"Ask her," he hissed, and shut the door quietly, tucking the big packet under his drying arm, and felt a drop of soap slidecdown his pale angular cheekbones. He turned to Naruto.

"I'll finish up and then we'll change the wrapping on your cheeks, alright?" he murmured, knowing the blonde could hear him clearly. Naruto nodded, and watched as he went back to the bathroom.

As he dropped the pack on the counter, he unwrapped his towel, getting back in. The water was cold. He cursed and danced around, holding back tiny squeals that would be most un-Uchiha like. Rinsing his thick black hair out, he turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a fresh, and dry, towel from the rack.

As he shook his thick bangs and sighed, he re-wrapped the clean cloth around his waist, grabbing the big brown package and went out, shutting off the light as he left the stuffy room.

The air-conditioning hit his with an almost audible "Burhrr," and he shivered, pulling the pack closer like a shield. He tossed it to the couch then, and set about at the dresser, pulling out his light grey pants and black tee. One of very many neutral outfits.

The only colors in the big dresser was a drawer on the top that housed Naruto's orange and black shirts and boxers. He sighed again, bypassing it with only a glance.

"You sigh alot," a voice behind him murmured. He froze, and blinked, relaxing again.

"You spoke?" it was a statement, but said more like a question.

"Maybe."

Silence resumed, but it was a soft one, craddling both traumitized teens in it's arms.

* * *

_**So? Reviews, Reviews, Reviews!**_

_**Oh, i'm also going to cancel Forgotten Bonds, and start another school one, so mail me if you want the FB&BH story**_

_**to continue it. I'll send it to you via e-mail if so. I'll decide after the 21st of this month.**_

_**New one's gonna be good.*fangirl squee***_

_**Gotta go to Wal-mart now. It's in Neosho, Missouri. Love you guys, see ya nxt time.**_


	6. Feelings?

_**So...Ye-yeah. I did promise. I know it's short, but I had it suddenly as an idea and couldn't resist. Oh. Nobody sighed up for FB&BH, so ill just delete it.**_

_**I know its kind of un-sasuke like, bt still, I just wanted to get the point across.**_

'The World Calling' by There for Tomorrow

* * *

Naruto blinked the grime from his lashes stared. He felt a bubble of surprise come up and laughed, a dry cough and a groan following after. Sasuke was covered in sheets, and his raven hair tuck out at odd angles, making art in abstract. His beautiful pale skin was lit up with the new sunlight turning to midday. One of his sweat pant legs was hiked all the way up to his thigh and bunched. His other foot dissapeared into it's own pants sleeve.

The room was cold with a big pile of blankets over them, the Tv on low in the background. Though the movement made his whole body ache, the blonde couldn't stop laughing and coughing, as the raven squinted over at him, then blinked owlishly, dark eyes glinting with groggy suspicion.

He tried to sit up, but only succeeded in getting even more jumbled up into his dark blue sheets and thick comforters, requested and provided by Tsunade. Soon, a moan or whimper within each giggle Naruto began to hiccup, trying desperately to quit. Sasuke muttered to himself, and starte carefully unwinding himself from the tangle of soft.

It'd been two days since they'd come back, and the two teens had almost never had a more horribly docile three few days. They barely spoke, for fear that they might accidently mention _it._

Sasuke had cooked, cleaned up, and cared for Naruto without words being necessary. He hummed quietly whenever he was reading, and did his homework and notes silently. Naruto, for his part, was still numb, in a way. He felt like the world he was in was a dream. It felt fuzzy and unreal. Somehow, as he was getting beaten, life after never once came to mind. He'd assumed that his life would end.

It hadn't, and now he seemed to be at a loss. For the raven too, he wondered in his spare time how he was still doing his homework and studying, dressing and taking his hot shower every night, when his best friend had gotten beaten and _raped_ not even a damned week ago.

He marveled, frowned, cried in the hot beating of the shower water, and stared at the blonde like he was the most precious thing ever invented.

But for some reason, the dream hadn't bothered Naruto last night, and he woke up, and began to laugh. He couldn't figure out why, later, it had been so funny.

Maybe, Sasuke thought, his mind and body were tired of the weariness, the aching, the horror. They'd decided to move on as best they could.

At the moment though, he was staring once again at Naruto. In absolute wonder. His heart pounded. And his stomach was doing dances in his abdomen.

The light streaming into the dark room was making the other's hair glow like the sun itself, and the white swathes of bandages all over his small frame moved with the laughter, riding out the wave of hope. Sasuke blinked, and felt an alarm go off in his head, quickly dismissing it as the rushed feeling faded.

_What was that about?_ He wondered, concerned. Naruto groaned clutching at his sides, the pain from laughing reaching him finally. He felt tears well up and a hand on his leg. He tensed.

"You okay, dobe?" Sasuke murmured, his soft grip tightening. The blonde nodded, his eyes resting on the pale fingers that were hlding onto his bandaged leg. He winced, then tried to smile. His cheeks sting and he bared his teeth, smile gone. The raven got up and went to the bathroom, retrieving the gauze and antibacterial spray. He grabbed three Advil off his medicine shelf, handing them to hi friend. He got a bottle of water, opening it with a satisfying "Chh!" He smiled.

Naruto watched him, shifting lightly to Sasuke could get closer to him. Their eyes met. Butterflies quadrupled into birds in the pit of Sasuke's stomach. His eyes widened.

_What the...?_

His heart was skipping beats irraticaly. Naruto's blue eyes were uncertain, and he leaned closer.

"C-come here. I've g-gotta change your cheeks," Sasuke muttered, stumbling over his sentence structure.

_Just what the hell is the deal?_

The blonde hiccupped again, snorting, "Change my cheeks?"

"The gauze," the other mumbled, nervous.

The laughter died stillborn.

"I knew that. What's wrong with you, teme?" Naruto raised a thin golden eyesbrow lightly.

"Stay still," Sasuke said gently, lifting the small tape that held the large squares of white to the blonde's face. He winced. The long, jagged furrows were pulsing red and black bruises around them, and a tiny bead of blood came up, where the bandaid had torn off the shallow scab.

"Ow," Nauto complained softly, clamping his azure orbs shut. A tear welled up, only to be brushed away by the raven.

Sasuke felt his finger burning, and took it away from the other's face, eyes widening fractionally.

"Don't cry over something so easily remedied," he whispered, smearing a drop of pain and antibacterial cream over the gashes, and blowing on them. His breath washed over Naruto and the blonde breathed deeply, loving the familiar scent of mint and Sasuke-ness. It was like he was home.

"Thanks," he said quietly, opening his eyes again, starting as he realized how close they were to each other. Sasuke leaned closer still, dabbing at the bead of blood, then applying the cream. The blonde's heart leapt and flipped. He stiffened, but released the tension before the raven could see it.

_Why...?_

His hair fell into his face, and he swallowed. Nerves warmed under Sasuke's fingers. He watched the careful way the other spread the oily substance over the numerous cuts and bruises on his body, until the large tube was squeezed for any more and then thrown away. The last bandaid was wrapped tightly around a slash on his foot.

Sasuke sighed, straightening. His back popped. He sighed again, tossing the tube into the waste basket. As his pale features came back into the sunlight streaming from the window, Naruto leaned forward, and his heart leapt and jumped erratically. Thoughts went through his mind with excitement, and the raven watched as the other looked out the window.

Disappointment clouded over his gaze, and he sighed another heartachingly quiet breath. Confusion came, but weakly.

_What did I think he would do?_

"Hey. S'suke?" Naruto whispered.

_Or was it hope?_

He blinked, and masked the emotions. As he looked over, back to the brilliant eyes, Sasuke felt like sobbing. So close.

"What happened? I've wondered...how did you find me? I mean..._that_ night," the other murmured, voice cracking on the last bit.

The silence was palpable. They breathed together and Sasuke's stomach twisted.

_So far away. Closer than we've ever been. But he feels so distant. Like there's a thin, see through wall between us. It's soundproof. I see him, but I can't understand his pain. I can only watch, as it tears both of us to pieces._

These thoughts crushed the raven and he felt helpless. So, without escape, he told Naruto what he'd gone through. How he'd worried and fretted. How he'd tracked him until the group of men, skipping over what he'd heard. He kept his eyes down and felt like he'd done it himself.

_I did._

Naruto was silent throughout the whole thing, watching the outside of the dorm, eyes on a tree below.

At the end, he looked over at the raven, and smiled wanly, eyes glimmering from held tears.

"Thanks. I know it wasn't easy." He mumbled.

Sasuke nodded, and answered, "You had the right to know, dobe."

The silence began, and soon stretched into a lull. They sat there, staring at each other, minds blank except for unasked questions.

_Why does my heart thump when I look in his eyes?_

_Why do I want to be close to him?_

After a couple of minutes, Sasuke got up again, and stretched, looking back over at the other, eyes carefully blank.

"Hey, dobe. What do you want to eat?"

Naruto stared at him like he'd grown a third head, and then announced that he was a spy.

"R-ramen,"he muttered. The raven nodded, and went over to the box by the couch, unperturbed by the other's reaction.

"Which flavour." He said it like a stamement.

"Miso."

Sasuke nodded again, and dug into the box, pulling out the only flavour inside.

"Crackers?"

"Yes?" The blonde was unsure, and getting annoyed. The raven always knew what he wanted for breakfast. It was nearly a tradition.

"Drink?"

"Hell."

Sasuke finally glanced over at him, and raised a brow.

"Which flavour?" He continued to tease Naruto, a smile growing on his lips, hidden from the blonde by his thick black bangs. He heard a low growl.

"Satan." Another nod.

"Fork or spoon?"

"Flapjack." Nod.

"Do you want some egg too?"

"Crickets." Nod. The smile was growing, and Sasuke was making the ramen as Naruto huffed, wondering just what the raven was playing at.

"Anything else?"

"Hey?"

"Yes?" Sasuke turned, revealing his growing grin.

Surprised, Naruto seethed.

"Ach! Teme! You were just toying with me?"

Sasuke let out a husky chuckle, and poured the hot water he'd made into the styrofoam cup, smelling the spices that lifted from it's rim.

"Teme,"the blonde growled again, trying not to smile at all.

He kept mumbling, and after some moments, a few slices of boiled egg, and a fork later, he was complimenting the raven's job. If only just.

After they had eaten, Sasuke having stolen a slurp or two of ramen, the raven went over to his squat chest by the air conditioning unit on the wall.

"Do you want to watch a movie, dobe?"

"Do you have Titanic?"

"No," but before Naruto could say anything he added quickly, "But hold on a sec."

He trotted over to his cell and scrolled through the sort list of contacts. He pressed a button.

It rang once.

Twice.

Thrice.

On the fourth ring, Sakura picked up, and a crashed sounded in the background. He winced.

"Sakura? Yeah, hey. Do you have 'The Titanic?'"

"Why?" She asked impatiently.

Before he answered, she muttered, "Sec."

"Ino, if you touch that, so help me, I'll rip out that damned ponytail and shove it up your ass!" She yelled.

_"Like to see you try, Forehead!" _A voice laughed in the behind. Another loud boom. The raven pulled his head from the phone and stared at it, before cautiously returning to it's side. He sighed.

"Bad time?"

"No, it's fine. Ino! Get your grubby-ass paws off that picture! And that one, too! So, Sasuke. What was that you needed? Titantic. Yeah, I have it. Yes, Pig, it _is_ Mr. Uchiha Sasuke. So what? No! Hell no. Back off. One moment Sasuke," it sounded like she put the phone down, and another yelling roar came fuzzily through his cell.

Naruto cocked his head, hearing tiny voices screaming.

Another crash. More yells.

"Ow! Fuck you, Forehead! He's mine!"

"What the hell? He just wanted a movie!" Crash!

After a few seconds, Sakura returned to the other end and asked calmly, "So. Should I bring it over?"

"," he hung up, shaking his head.

Naruto, wondering what happened, and not hearing any of what went on over his slurping at his soda, asked cautiously, "So?"


	7. Freaking Out

**_Hey guys._**

******How are you? Hope you love my longest chappie eva! (In this story)**

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'Stand in the Rain" by SuperChick

* * *

As the pinkette walked quickly down the hall towards Sasuke's room, she clutched 'Titanic' to her stomach. She turned the corner and walked a tiny bit faster. Soon she'd turned to face his dorm. She stood in front of Sasuke's dorm, humming loudly. Suddenly, as she raised her hand to knock, it opened, and a glaring Uchiha stared back at her, an empty bottle of soda in his fist. He looked like he was cornered in a bar, and about to go mad. She gulped, and queasily offered forth the two cassette tape movie. His eyes flicked, and he relaxed in a split second.

"Hey Sakura. That it?" He glanced at the pro-offered film, and she nodded uneasily. She hesitated, then asked.

"You like the Titanic, Sasuke?"

He looked uncomfortable, and coughed out, "Er-Yeah?" He said it like a question. The girl raised a brow, her emerald eyes searching his murky black ones. Flicks of amber glinted in the flourescent lighting, and she shrugged, handing over the pair of movies.

"Shikamaru called me before I left and told me to ask about Naruto," she ventured cautiously, noting the clenching of Sasuke's fist. His glare hardened again, fiercer now. "What does he mean? What about Naruto?"

The other growled and glanced back into his room, whispered something Sakura couldn't hear, then turned back, still glaring.

"Thanks for the movie. Bye." He shut his door. Sakura stood there, her stunned face growing angry quickly. She pounded on the door, yelling obsceneties into the space beyond.

After a little wile though, she started to repeat herself, and gave up on the raven returning. She huffed and stalked off, still livid.

* * *

As the screams from the other side of his door died down and left, Sasuke inserted the first tape, giving the already entranced blonde a secret smile.

As the previews came on, he tried to pay attention to the screen, but his eyes kept being drawn to the bruised teen beside him. Sometime between when Leonardo DiCaprio met the woman (Sasuke didn't register her name), and when he had to change tapes, he had sighed quietly nearly 116 times.

He counted.

Naruto didn't laugh, but pouted whenever the characters said something unplea sant. He usually just smiled his big, soft-looking smile, and hummed happily at the happy parts. Sasuke's mind realized something as he did it for the umpteenth time.

_He's adorable._

And Gods-help-him, he nearly choked on his own tongue, as he heard what his mind had said.

_Oh fuck. Oh my fucking God. Oh shit. Oh...oh my._

Naruto was completely entralled with the film, as water raced over the sides of the gigantic vessel, Sasuke stood slowly, trying not to disturb the other. Immediatly pausing the movie, though, the blonde lifted his eyes to the other's.

"Sas'ke?" he questioned. His huge, sparkling blue eyes grew confused and even more puppydog-ish. Sasuke gulped.

_Cute._

"I'm gonna go get more meds from Tsunade, alright?" He watched Naruto carefully.

Cobalt eyes widened in hesitation, and he murmured, "But..."_ I don't want you to go..._

The words were private, and the raven didn't hear them this time.

"I'll be back in ten or fifteen minutes, and the door and window will be latched up tight. Okay?" He stepped closer again, offering up his open palms in compromise.

Naruto pulled his covers up and nodded shakily. The two hadn't been apart except for Sasuke's nightly showers since they'd returned three days ago (Including that day). He began to shiver and unpaused the film, trying to focus on it again.

Sasuke quelled his thumping heart and turned towards the door, grabbing his keys from underneath the growing pile of homework they had ammassed. They were really beginning to pile, since nobody had come by to get them. Kakashi had them delivered each morning, but hadn't sent anyone to retrieve them.

Everytime the raven had tried so far to give them to the delivery boys, they'd refused, shaking thier heads and saying they'd been told not to. He hesitated again, then grabbed the stack and tucked it under his arm. Glancing back at the other, he opened the door, shutting it firmly and locking both the double locks behind him. He regretted he couldn't lock the dead bolt from here.

He checked both ways, and headed off towards the college's office. He wondered if Tsunade was even 'in', and turned the corner. He turned again just as quickly, and narrowly avoided being spotted by Ino.

_Damn it. I'm already having a bad day. First I wake up and hear chanting outside, and those damn chicks were burning inscense to bring me 'back to them,' then Sakura starts asking questions, then _that_ happened,_ he paused, unsure, then plowed on again, _Andnow I run into my 'number one fan.'_

_Greeeeeat._

She was sneering with some of her 'friends',and laughing shrilly. Sasuke snuck as close as he could, wondering.

"God, Mia, you're so right! That damn _Fox_," she spat the word out like a curse, "Is just a damned burden on _Sasuke-kun."_ She blushed when she sighed his name, and he wrinkled his nose, disgusted. A slow boil of anger was bubbling as he listened further.

"Yeah. Thank God we haven't had to look at him since we 'saw' him last week. Who knows? Maybe we're heroes because we teased him into leaving!" another girl cackled fiercely. The others joined in with her. Sasuke growled, but held his frayed temper back. He kept listening.

"So, I was sick that day guys," one of them whined. The others made sympathetic gestures, and she kept going, "So what did you say to him? Please?"

The raven strained to hear.

"Well," Ino took a breath, "We told him the truth. That he was worthless, a burden, and a fucking monster!" The others cheered.

Seething, the teen waited behind the corner, sensing there was more to come.

"Get this," she continued, "We also said that Sasuke had told everyone he hated the fox and even that he wished he'd never met him in the first place. The thing totally bought it. What a loser. He went off, and was sobbing something like, 'It's just not true!'"They all started giggling, and applauded the glassy blonde girl.

Seething, the raven gripped his sweats, restraining himself.

He took a huge breath, letting it all hiss out. As he let it go, he turned around, walking slowly and firmly, not turning around. He got all the way to the elevator and slid Tsunade's key in, which he hadn't given back. He stepped in, glaring at the doors as they shut. Then, collapsing into himself, and knowing the doors wouldn't open until he inserted the thin key again, he sat down, clutching at his sides, as they burned with pent up tears. His heart was aching.

He felt like he wanted to die. He felt like he wanted to kill someone. He felt like he already had...

* * *

Shikamaru was walking down the hall, leaning back, with his head tilted. He watched the clouds out the windows, and sighed.

_So damn troublesome._

Damn Tsunade, making his work today. It was gorgeous outside. He looked again at the small slip of paper he'd been told tt deliver to Sasuke. He passed Ino and her little gaggle of girls, ignoring them with long-practiced skill.

As he neared the other's dorm, he heard soft crying. Raising a brow, he walked .2 miles faster, and arrived a whole three seconds sooner. Then, putting a lazy ear to the door, Shika felt both brows furrow. Sobbing was coming from inside, and Sasuke never cried. He backed up, and knocked on the door.

"Sasuke?" came the call from Inside, carefully neutral but still with hope on the outer edges. It sounded male.

"Sasuke?" the voice came again, this time urgent. Shika knocked again, softer. A shriek came from inside, making the brunette jump, startled by this reaction.

"Hello? Who are you?" he finally asked quietly into the door.

The crying had started again, but now it ground to a halt, and the teen listened to sniffles.

"Why? Who are you?" The mystery person asked, his voice muffled.

Shikamaru thought for a moment, and then it clicked.

"Naruto?"

A sharp gasp sounded from the other side, and he quickly continued, "It's Shikamaru. What's going on?" Silence.

"Hello? Naruto?" Still no sound. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head, and muttered, "Troublesome damn mystery." Then, sighing again, and retaining his slouch, he called out, "Look, Naruto. Tsunade sent me to give a note to Sasuke. I'm sorry if I scared you. I won't ask. The old hag threatened to put me on as a full-time aid if I did." He sighed for the umpteenth time.

"Can you give the Uchiha a message?" he asked softly. A silence stretched, and he gave up on any answer.

"Okay. I'm taking that as a yes. Tell him Tsunade said something about his brother being seen. She said he'd know what it meant," he grumbled, and yawned.

_Troublesome._

"Okay then," he surrendered a final time, "I'm going to leave now. Just tell Sasuke when he gets back, I guess."

And with that, he walked off, wondering.

* * *

As he listened to Shika talking right outside the door, the blonde was freaking out. How'd he find out that Naruto was there?

Did Sasuke say something? What was going to happen to him now?

He tried to calm down, eyes still puffy from his earlier crying. He'd been so scared, because he didn't know what to think of his feelings. And now, it might not matter anymore at all.

He might be exposed in front of everyone who hated him.

He shifted, crying harder when his ass ground against the matress. It was hardly hurting anymore, but the raw memory of it came back, if only for a split second, whenever his butt touched something roughly. He ground his teeth, trying to move. His ribs suddenly cried out and his cheeks stung.

It was the salt. So many fresh wounds were being salt-dripped by Naruto's sobbing.

He finally got sitting up and swung his feet very slowly over the edge of the bed, a shiver of fear and cold getting past his tears.

As hestood, he bit his tongue trying not to scream, and felt warm, metallic blood splash into his wet cavern. He gagged, and choked on blood and his sobs at the same time.

Breathing deeply, and trying not to weep further, Naruto took several steps without stopping, but when he did, he was panting, and a few of his unhealed wounds had opened back up, freely bleeding.

He gasped, blood splattering where he coughed. He gagged another time and heaved his chest, trying not to hyper-ventilate. His body was shutting down on itself. So many days bedrest hadn't prepared it for this new test of strength, It just couldn't take it.

His knees buckled, and he shrieked, coughing up more blood. His shirt had soaked through, and he was only four feet from the door when his body completely collapsed.

The last thing he thought about was Sasuke's carpets, how bloody he'd made them, his pain being numbed by the encroaching darkness.

_I just can't seem to quit being a burden on him..._

* * *

As he dried his eyes sternly again, the raven shook his bangs into his face, to hide any remaining redness on the rims of his eyes.

_I think I've cried more in the past eight days than I have in my entire life,_ He thought wonderingly.

Then, as he slid the key into it's slot, the doors opened, and he stepped out, sighing with a hint of a shudder. He cleared his throat, readjusted the papers again under his arm, and set off back towards the front office, connected through a long, windowed 'tunnel' to both the girls' and boys' dorm, the real school on the other side.

The air-conditioner blasted through the narrow hallway, and Sasuke shivered. He arrived, chilled somewhat, at Tsunade's office, and banged on the door loud enough to wake the dead.

"What? Damn it, come the hell in, don't stand out there and beat down my freakin' door!" she snarled from inside. He smirked and opened up, waiting until the butter knife flew past, into the floor beside him, to step into her space. A bottle of rum was sitting on her desk, half-hidden by papers, probably similar to the ones he himself was carrying.

Sympathy twitched somewhere deep inside the raven, but he smothered it and stared at her.

She had dark purple shadows under both her murky eyes, and her hair hung limply, dully around her face, one side nearly free of its pigtail.

"Oh, Sas'ke. Its you," she slurred, glaring at him, "Wha'cha doin? Hows ma brat?"

He shook his head sitting down in one of the plush chairs by her desk, putting the stack of papers down, out of her line of sight.

"Hoenstly Tsunade. It's not even three o' clock yet," he sounded bored, but concern was writhing around in the pit of his stomach, being ignored by the pride, who ran everything and made the desicions.

Sheraised a brow and waved him away irritably.

"Tch. 'It' Snot even tree yech,' she grumbled, her voice extremely slurred as she attempted to mimic him. She glared bitterly at him, "Well i'm having a very bad week, Mr. _Uchiha,_" she spat.

Sasuke flinched and turned away. She sighed, like she'd regretted it immediatly.

"Sorry kid. I'm just upset and stressed."

He said nothing, and she groaned, stoppering her rum. She seemed to be coming out of the drunken fog, and cleared he throat.

"So how is Naruto?" sheasked solemnly, confirming this, as she finally came all the way out of her slurred stupor. She'd escaped her rum-dim-di-ness.

Sasuke sighed, and shook more of his coal black hair into his face, obscruing her view of his eyes even more.

"He's...progressing positively, I suppose. When I left him, he was watching Titanic."

The blonde's brow rose, "You own Titanic." she said it as a statement, and the raven grumbled.

"Sakura came over a dropped it off," her muttered tersly. She nodded. Then, scooping up her bottle, she slid it into a drawer beside her. It was Sasuke's turn to raise his brow.

"Well," she continued, "I have some news for you, so I guess since you're here, you havn't heard from Shikamaru, am I right?"

He nodded, wondering where this was headed.

"Itachi was sighted a few days ago, in a nearby city," she said quietly. Sasuke's body froze up, cleching around itself like a barrier.

Hesucked in a shuddery breath.

"Where?"

"Rain City." (Hidden Village of the Rain)

His eyes widened. And he grpped his chair tighter, the soft leather squeaking in his grasp.

"We're going to have you move into one of the Teacher's rooms," she told him, her words reaching him. He blinked,and shook his head no, remembering his blonde.

He stiffened.

_When did I start to think of him as mine?_

Confused, worried, and just freaking out in general, Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples.

"We can't move him yet. He's just now got enough strength to stay awake for long periods of time, and he's alot more comfortable in my room than he would be anywhere else," his tone brooked no argument, Principal or not. His tone alone told her he'd fight for this if he had to. She scowled, knowing that he wouldn't budge in this.

She furrowed her brow, then announced, "Then Kakashi's sleeping on your couch from now on."

"Fine." She blinked. She hadn't thought it'd be so easy.

"What?" she nearly said, but recovered just in time, noting that the raven wasn't even looking at her, but instead at the door, as if he wanted to run away.

"Kid?" Tsunade asked softly, and got up, coming over to sit beside him. She hesitated, eyeing the paperwork on the ground, but kept going, and ruffled his hair, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Rgh! Hey." he hissed, scrabling out of hisseat and practically onto the ground. She chuckled.

'So.I'll tell Kakashi, okay?"

"Tell Kakashi what?" avoice said, and the silver-haired man stepped out from behind Tsunade.. He growled, and slapped him hard.

"Hell! Give me a freakin' heart attack, why don't you?"

"You're sleeping on my couch," Sasuke said, then shoved his papers into the man's hands, leaving before he could protest.

* * *

Shikamaru was just walking back into the office when he bumped into Sasuke. The raven stared at him, then nodded, about to go past.

Shika sighed, "Wait, Sasuke," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, Tsunade already tol—"

"Naruto was crying."

Sasuke whipped around and whispered harshly, "_What?_"

Kakashi glanced at them through Tsunade's door window, cocking his head.

"I heard him sobbing behind your door when I went to give you the message."

Before he could say anymore, he was released and pushed away, as the raven turned on his heels and sprinted back towards the stairs.


	8. Passing Dangers and Memories

**So, I'd like for you guys to really enjoy this one. I thought it was really cute, myself. Also, thanks for your reviews!**

**Enjoy ma lahtest chaptah.**

'Your Guardian Angel' by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

* * *

**_Last time on Lost Kit:_**

_"Don't worry, Tsunade already tol—"_

_"Naruto was crying."_

_Sasuke whipped around and whispered harshly, "What?"_

_Kakashi glanced at them through Tsunade's door window, cocking his head._

_"I heard him sobbing behind your door when I went to give you the message."_

_Before he could say anymore, he was released and pushed away, as the raven turned on his heels and sprinted back towards the stairs._

* * *

Sasuke was flying down the hall, mind flashing images of Naruto through hs mind, and he heaved his chest, running faster.

_Have to hurry...in time...in time for what?_

Dread was boiling up like acid into his throat, as he sucked in more air.

What would he find when he got there?

His fist smacked against the door to the staircase, and he pushed past a book-carrying boy, careening dangerously before regaining balance and running up towards the third floor, taking two or three steps at a time.

Naruto.

He was nearing his exit, and he sped up, practically exploding from the staircase doors. A teen walking by jumped and squeaked, staring at the raven as he ran down the all, fumbling in his pocket for his room keys. Clenching them in his long pale fingers, Sasuke skidded to a halt, mask falling, as the world seemed to be ripping apart around him all over again.

_Please be alright. Please..._

He slid the keys in and unlocked the heavy wooden door, the frame splintering under his frantic shoving.

He ran in and stopped, tears coming to his eyes and a gasp coming out as a sob. He slid to the ground, looking at the fragile, bleeding body on his carpet. Dropping his keys, he put his face in his palms, door still wide open.

And you know what?

He began to cry again.

Tears ran, unempended, down his pale, angular cheeks, and he didn't give a flying fuck.

_Oh Naruto...dobe..._

He whimpered, and fire alighted once more in his eyes, pushing him up to standing, his chest heaving. He realized that he'd forotten to get the bandages he'd left for, and stepped quickly into the bathroom, digging around under the sink for the emergency stash kit he'd built on the first day back.

He pulled it out, slamming the lid open to reveal layers of gauze, pain meds, and antibacterial cream. Correct dosages and warning were glued to the lid. He checked them, dumping out four of the pain pills and snatching up a rag from beside the kit. He got it soaked, wrung it, then made his way back to the blonde.

Working through his worry and frenzied concern, the raven gently carried the blonde onto bathroom counter, putting a cloth under his shimmering gold head. The now bleeding cuts on his face were inflamed from the salty tears, and his eyes were still puffy.

_This just happened. I was so close._

The teen stripped the blonde of his extra long shirt he wore, and blushed, fighting his new-found feelings as he looked at the blonde naked body.

The day before, Naruto had asked to only wear the shirt because the sweats and boxers stung and scraped at his bruises and bandaged cuts. Sasuke had admitted defeat in this and given him the longest, loosest shirt he owned. On him, it came a little below the top pockets of his jeans, but on the blonde, it nearly came down to his knees. Of course, the raven _had_ stretched it quite a bit, just in case it was too short. It wasn't, and they'd gone the rest of the day comfortably like that.

Now, though, the arm holes were a nuisance, and he strugled to lift the other and take the shirt off at the same time while being gentle. When he finally did, however, he was too late to surpress the gasp and whimper. The thick white gauze that surrounded and cushioned Naruto's ribs and upper body were soaked through, the lower body bloody and smeared with sweat.

_I can't believe he nearly made it to the door like this. It's almmost fifteen feet, for God-sakes!_

Sasuke growled, and carefully unwrapped the white bandage, peeling off the last layer from his puffed up and shredded skin. With all the salty and metallic smells iminating from the other, the raven fought not to start crying again. He needed to be able to see to do this right, he convinced himself.

A flashback stole him away.

**_Flashback to three months ago:_**

_The small blonde laughed and tugged at Sasuke's chicken butt hair, curling it around his fingers and giggling._

_"Pfft. I can't believe you just giggled, baka," a deep, husky voice said._

_A pout took over the other's face, and he scowled at his best friend, who sat beside the bed, reading a book, his glasses riding low on his nose, raven hair falling around his perfect alabaster face._

_Naruto's bottom lips stuck out, and he pulled harder, his blue eyes crackling._

_"Shut up, teme. I can giggle if I want to. It takes a real man to be comfortable giggling, you know."_

_"Mmm," the other didn't say anything, but smiled secretly, unbeknownt to the blonde teen on the bed above him. He turned the page and sighed, content._

* * *

It must have begun somewhere around then, Sasuke thought as he applied new ointment to the bleeding blonde's shoulders and arms, tears threatening once more.

* * *

_"Sasuke?"_

_His big, sapphire blue eyes looked down onto the other's dark hair, and rubbed his fingers along Sasuke's scalp, knowing he'd get an answer eventually._

_"Yes, dobe?" His response finally came, when he completed a sentence. He glanced up, in the direction he felt the blonde to be in._

_"Why are you friends with me?" the whisper came softly, and seemed like a roar to the raven, who blinked, smiled, marked his page, and shut the book._

_He set it down and turned, getting onto his knees to look the blonde directly in the face._

_A question was in his own face, nest to the hesitation, and Naruto shook his head, sighing._

_"Nevermind, sorry Sasuke I just-" Sasuke cut him off, answering swiftly, "Because you're good for me."_

_A blush blossomed across the other's face,and his eyes widened._

_"Ehh? Good for you how?"_

_Sasuke shook his head and sighed, "Not what I meant, dobe. I just meant that you...are the only one who makes me smile. I don't get as irritable with you around as I used to. I couldn't quit smoking for two years, and then you come into my life, and it takes me less than a week. You're such a good person, it rubs off on me."_

_Naruto felt tears come to his eyes, and he grinned winningly, grabbing the other in a fierce hug._

_"Aww! I'm good for you! How sweet!" Sasuke knew his ears were on fire as he gently pushed the blonde away, snorting._

_"It's not that big a deal, baka."_

_"Careful, or your good influence will get angry," Naruto teased, poking the raven as Sasuke smiled secretly again, and turned back to is book, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose once again, and opened up his novel._

_On the bed, though, the blonde was still watching him, smiling warmly._

* * *

It must've started then, Naruto thought in his dream.

* * *

_That's when I began to fall in love with my best friend._

* * *

**_End Flashback._**

Sasuke was rewrapping the hand bandaids and rubbing the cream in gently to his fingers when a knock came at the door. He cursed and brought the towel up over the rest of Naruto's body, to kee him from getting too cold. Then he heard creaking, and he remembered he'd left the door wide open. Cursing again, he opened the bathroom door after shutting the light off and stepped out, not shutting the door. Kiba was standing it the door, a pizza box in one had, a question on the other.

"Sasuke? Why's your door open?' The raven scowled and te Inuzuka boy backed off, smiling wanly and trying to remember his reason for venturing out here, one floor above his.

"Soo...hey," he began badly, and Sasuke raised a thin ebony brow, as if to say, 'You're-joking-right?' He gulped and blurted out, "Have you seen Naruto lately?"

Sasuke stiffened, and shook his head, face a mask of stone, "Why do you ask?"

The two of them weren't really close. They'd defintely spoken before, but they'd been in the same school since elementary grade. Who wouldn't? Plus, they always had at least two classes together. It was inevitable that they'd had a tiny bit of interaction.

But not enough for Kiba to know Sasuke's 'back off' signs.

He was glaring right back into the deep ebony eyes, but in confusion, not anger. He scratched the back of his head.

"Not you either, huh? Damn it. I thought you might have, being best friends?" he let that statment hang like a question, inviting suddenly remembered information. Sasuke shook his head very slightly, signaling that no, he hadn't.

"Well," he mumbled, looking away sadly, "That's everyone. Pizza's probably cold by now." He looked down at the box he held.

"Hn."

"You want it?" he asked suddenly, offering the box and it's contents to the raven, as he smiled haltingly.

Sasuke thought for a second, and then nodded, taking it gently away and asking if there was anything else he needed. No 'Gee, thank you for giving your pizza to me'. He really shouldn't have expected one.

"Okay. I guess tell him hi if you do, alright?" Kiba asked as he turned and waited for an answer.

"Hn," Sasuke nodded the tiniest bit, knowing the other could tell he did. The brunette walked off, pulling out his phone after a few steps. Presumably to call Naruto again.

Sasuke suddenly realized that he had no clue what had happened to Naruto's phone.

Not that it mattered in the slightest right now. He tossed the pizza onto his bed from three yards away and went back into the bathroom, flicking on the light once more.

He pulled the towel back off and set to work again, not able to tell if anything else had been wounded. But it was extremely unlikely. The blood spatter, as far as he could see, showed a direct trail from the bed to where he'd found the blonde, and just falling wouldn't do it.

He hoped. It was the middle of the day and he damn sure wasn't going to go get help and leave Naruto by himself again. Carrying him to the office was out of the question too. He knew Naruto would've chosen death, rather than letting so many people who hated him know he was so vulnerable.

He wrapped the other up as best he could, afterward brushing his sunshine bangs from his face and putting thick pads back onto his cheeks, atop fresh ointment.

Lastly, he opened the blonde's mouth and dropped one of the pain pills down it, stroking his adam's apple so he would swallow.

Soon, he'd gotten that done and was still looking intensly at Naruto's naked body, which made him blush, mummified or no. With the tips of his ears burning, the raven picked up the smaller nineteen year old, carrying him from the bright porcelain bathroom to the black interior from where he began his short, painful journey.

He put the blonde on his side and pulled the covers up, tucking him securely in, although Sasuke was very light sleeper.

Then, grabbing the pizza box, he put it on top of the fridge and returned to the bed, hunting down the remote control. He sighed, and looked at the television, which was bathing the room in a blue sea. He flicked the remote at it, and it switched to the live news. He stood up, and went over to his fridge, stiffening as Naruto shifted, waiting for the whimpers to start.

They never came.

Instead, he heard something that made his pulse race.

"_Sasuke...Sasuke..."_

A deep shudder rippled down his perfectly carved body and he adoted the all too familiar 'Deer-The-Headlights' look, staring over his shoulder at the slumbering blonde teen.

"Naruto?"

Then, the moment passed, he ripped his gaze away and instead stared at his hands, any elation over the blonde remaining quiet, over him saying his name as he sleep, was crushed by the overwheling guilt.

Again, it was his fault. He shouldn't have left him alone. He should have told Kakashi through a newly frightened delivery boy, or called Shikamaru, since it seemed he already knew most of it. He could've counted on the brunette, he knew.

But no, somewhere, deep inside, was a part of himself who'd wanted a break. He hated that part. He despised that he could've even _thought_ of possibly thinking of feeling that way. He shook his head, vision blurred, and snatched up a can of grape soda, popping the cap and taking a long swallow. He then turned and went back to the bad, shutting the fridge door.

He settled down into the fluffy comforter, climbing in next to the blonde. But he couldn't bring himself to look at that tanned, angelic face, when he'd made it suffer so much.

He turned down the news so much it was a faint whisper. He thought about his past year, and how different it was compared to the rest of his life. It was...happy.

Another flashback sucked him in.

_**Flashback to five months ago:**_

_"Hey Sasuke?" The blonde's hair was falling into his tanned face, and his blue eyes showed an unknown depth, that Sasuke hadn't seen before._

_"Hn," he mumbled, signaling that he was listening._

_"Why you suppose God lets people be lonely?" his normally vibrant voice was quiet, almost silent._

_"Why do you ask?" The raven peeked at him through his lids._

_They were sitting in a tree, Sasuke below the blonde on the nest limb. Naruto was looking out into the trees, and his eyes were misty now._

_"Because I wonder why someone who is supposed to love us would inflict so much pain on a person." He glanced over at the raven, and his cerulean eyes crackling with questioning._

_Sasuke shut his eyes again, thought for awhile, and sighed, "So we can meet the people we care about, and know what it's like to not be lonely anymore."_

_Silence._

_Then, "Thanks for not letting me be lonely, Sasuke."_

_The raven opened his eyes and looked up at the blonde, but he'd looked away again._

_**End Flashback.**_

"I never did say thank you back," Sasuke murmured into his pillow as he drifted off.

* * *

Naruto woke up, covered tightly in blankets, and he blinked, pain vaguely coming back to him through the sleep fog.

Then, startled, he shifted. He felt new,crisp bandages on himself, and murmured, "Sasuke...Sasuke..." Then settled back down. He heard someone move behind him and nearly turned around he was so scared, but then a deep, husky voice, somewhat starined, said, "Naruto?"

He remained quiet, and listened, wondering what had happened. Then, remembering Shikamaru, he felt anxious, but surely he wouldn't be here if the raven was angry at him.

He heard a can open and the fridge door shut, quiet steps on the carpet.

The bed sunk in with the other's wieght, and he panicked for a split second, memories shooting through his mind, but disappearing just as quickly. When his mind had returned to from it's brief but intense fright, Naruto listened. He couldn't feel the pleasant wieght of the raven's gaze, and he heard the TV's silent static in the background, so he wondered just what the other was doing.

After a little while, he felt Sasuke shift and lay down. The buzz of electricity still went in the back, and the other's breathing lulled him into a light sleep, barely awake.

Then he heard, as he was slipping back into his slumber, "I never did say thank you back."

He let the question of what Sasuke meant slip from his head as he fell unconscious again.


	9. Bath Day

Hey guys. How'd you like the last chapter? I worked hard on the flashbacks, and I went crazy because it's so easy to draw them at ease with each other. I didn't want it to seem _too_ at ease though, if you know.

Omigod. I found the perfect song for them, not that there's not like a billion for them. Look up _Stroke 9-So Good_ on youtube, and you'll see!

Hopefully, you do. So, Hope you like this one.

_Alert:_ Let me know if you've seen misleading data that says Naru is only sixteen or seventeen. These are errors. He is infact nineteen in my story, so tell me if you see this. It might not be a huge deal to you, but I don't want anyone being confused. Just let me know via review, or mail me on Fanfiction. No e-mailing, seeing as I don't check it too often. Just tell me which chapter, and I'll reread it and fix the mistakes.

Thank you and enjoy.

'Just The Way You Are' by Bruno Mars

* * *

He woke up slowly, loving the relaxing heat that surrounded him. His body started to dully ache, and he grimaced as he moved his eyes, a headeache somehow already in place.

Wait...was that a hand? And an arm?

He began to glance around, curious.

He felt a blush come up and his ears burn. He was firmly inside the warm circle of Sasuke's arms, one lying beneath his head, the other looped around his waist.

The blonde could even feel the other's stomach pressed gently against his back, fluctuating with the other's breathing. He could feel the soft breath blown onto his neck, and his feet were swirled around one of the raven's legs, the considerable height difference obvious.

He took a deep, shuddery breath of his own, and let it hiss out, calming himself down. And snuggled backward subconsciously, still in love with the comforting heat that kept away his nightmares.

"Are you awake?" an almost inaudible whisper flickered past his ear and he blinked. If Sasuke was awake, why hadn't he moved?

He thought about that question, seriously considering. His headache was still present, so he guessed he was.

He nodded, and tried to lift himself up. He shrieked in new-found pain, and collapsed back into the raven's chest. An 'oof' came as a grunt and the mumbled, "Dobe," was a relief. He hadn't hurt his friend. But he, on the other hand, was a different planet away from unhurt. His arm was throbbing, now that he'd become alert to it.

"Don't move until it quits hurting," the rough whisper came again, whisping slivers of Naruto's hair to the front of his ears softly. His ears burned harder. Sasuke chuckled.

Apparently, this very compromising situation was only amusing, not embarrassing to the dark-haired boy.

Naruto relaxed.

If he wasn't angry, the blonde was going to enjoy the feeling of saftey here in the the other's strong, wiry, warm arms.

He had no clue that the raven was doing the same.

* * *

When Sasuke had woken up thirty mintues before, he'd been surprised, but not displeased, by their predicament.

He didn't freak out, but hugged the smaller boy tighter, loving the way his spiky hair was so soft and bright, even in the dim light of the bedroom.

He wasn't one to deny whatever he decided on, even if all of himself wasn't too sure about the deciding. Only his pride was in question about him loving the small blonde, but it had long been overruled in matter's concerning Naruto. For nearly a year, the raven had obstinately put aside his pride when dealing with him.

All in all, he felt as if a huge wieght had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt now like he was reassured in Naruto's future.

_No one will ever hurt him again. He's mine to protect now, and I won't fail him._

* * *

They stayed that way for about an hour, but finally Naruto had to admit that his arm didn't hurt anymore, when the raven reluctantly asked him.

"No, It's fine now," he mumbled, sad to feel his heater go away, as Sasuke retracted his long, pale arms from around the blonde.

_Why do I feel like this...?_

Naruto sighed softly, and Sasuke secretly did the same, finally flicking off the television, the buzz fading after a moment. He then put a hand on the blonde's back, whispering sadly, "Bath?"

The other stiffened, but then relaxed. The Uchiha's eyes widened, and he looked at him fully, disbelieving.

"Sure." _I don't care. If you're the one who does it._

"What did you say?" Sasuke murmured swiftly, needing to hear it again.

"I trust you."

The raven blinked and reaquired his mask, nodding though Naruto couldn't see him do it. He carefully dragged the blanket's from the other's body, blushing lightly as he did so.

Naruto was covered only in bandages, otherwise naked completely.

Around this time, the blonde also seemed to realize this, hesitating once more as the raven's hand came to rest on his arm. He let the tension out, and when his arm when slack, Sasuke went over to his side of the bed, lifting him gently into the cove between his arms, head resting directly below his chin, wild blonde locks brushing his throat.

He sighed and sunk deeper into the raven's strong hold, a fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach throwing warmth over him as he did so. He felt the inevitable question rise, but ignored it, shutting his eyes, a faint blush on the tips of his ears.

As the rounded the bed, Sasuke began to hum, so quietly Naruto could only feel him do so. He didn't recognize the tune, but he listened calmly, as they slowly made thier way to the bathroom, Sasuke silently blushing like a crazed fangirl(hint hint). He could feel every goosebump on the blonde's perfect legs and arms, caused by his chilly room.

He rounded into the bathroom, finally, and laid the blonde down on the counter again. The earlier nights' bandages were piled in a corner, and Naruto eyed them sadly.

"Dobe..." Sasuke seemed to know what the other's was doing, even as he shuffled below for a set of fresh towels.

He pulled out several black, fluffy cloths and set them beside the blonde.

"Did you tell Shikamaru?" Naruto couldn't help but ask, as he looked down, ashamed that he doubted his best friend, but afraid the other would be angry at him for his little nearly-lethal stunt once reminded of it.

The raven sighed, and shook his head. His dark, amber-flecked eyes searched the blonde's face, seeing pent-up tears behind his strong cerulean eyes, retrained by his will power.

"No," he whispered, and he could tell that a breath had been released from the smaller nineteen year old, "I think he just knows that you're staying here. Nothing else." His voice was softer on the last note.

Naruto was silent, but he nodded sideways, his head on the counter. Sasuke lifted it and placed a towel under, and then lifted the pads from the blonde's bruised cheeks, careful not to harm him.

They peeled off easily enough, but a tiny piece of the developing scab was torn off, and a small bead of blood appeared, just like before, and Sasuke brushed it off, his fingers burning where they touched Naruto's skin, pulsing just under the skin.

"Why were you crying?"

The question came so suddenly that the small blonde gasped in surprise, and turned his head away quickly, avoiding the question, and the resulting answer that he felt rise up from the pit of his stomach. Sasuke's face was shadowed, and he was looking at the ground, hesitation obvious. He didn't want to upset his blonde. He stiffened, and a shudder went through him, making him smile crookedly and turn his gaze to Naruto.

_My blonde..._

The other's ears were bathed in vibrant pink, and his face was open and shy at the same time.

A breath caught in the raven's throat.

_Cute...how did I never notice before?_

Sasuke ignored the lack of answering, and kept going, gently unwrapping each of the blonde's injuries, until his toes were before his fingers, bandaids tightly around them. He sighed, and looked at the growing pile of bandages.

_I'm going to have to find a way to get more._

As he watched the blonde, his mind was absorbed in the problem, he didn't notice the question the first question, or the fact the he was actually staring at the other's naked, but bruised and torn body.

He blushed and shook his head, letting a nervous chuckle slide out by mistake. Naruto smiled back, and asked once more, "Do I get a bath today?"

A teasing lilt to his voice made another low, husky laugh crawl from the deep recesses of Sasuke's heart, creeping past the indignant pride on the way out.

"Hn," he nodded slightly, dismissing his thoughts. He wrapped is arms back around the blonde again and lifted him, turning to the bathtub.

"Would you like to stand?" he offered gently.

Naruto nodded, eyes shamed and looking away.

_None of this is your fault._ Sasuke whispered in his mind.

But the blonde wasn't looking, and the mesage was wasted.

Sighing again, he flipped open the toilet lid, placing a shy Naruto on top. Proud secretly of his improvosation, the raven turned away and flipped the water on, testing it until it was an okay temperature he judged for the blonde.

Then, pulling the curtain, he took off his shirt and pants, picking the other back up.

Confused now, Naruto put a thin hand on Sasuke's arm, and asked, "What're you gonna do now? Why'd you take those off?"

Hesitating and realizing he probably should've asked first, Sasuke looked straight at him and questioned, "Do you mind? It's easier if I just go in with you."

Blushing desperately, and finally understanding, the other cleared his throat and shook his head, mumbling, "I don't mind."

Nodding, the other put his mouth on the blonde's golden head, and murmured into his hair gently, "I promised I'd protect you. I won't do anything. Try to stay with me, dobe." _I couldn't take it if it happened again._

Even without having looked or heard the silent words, the blonde seemed to understand, nodding as he looked away again, "I'll try."

As they stepped closer, Sasuke gently, slowly, reluctantly let Naruto stand on his own, one fist clenched on the raven's arm, the other on the shower wall.

He faltered for a moment and the Uchiha nearly fainted right then and there, frantically diving for someone who'd already re-balanced themselves. He groaned, and shuddered, relieved.

_I only get this frazzled around him...did I really not notice before...or was it never this intense a sensation?_

As the raven squeezed out shampoo into his palm, he rubbed his hands together, lathering them up, thick suds slipping from his pale fingers. Then, moving clser to the blonde, he massaged the soap into Naruto's hair, marveling once again at the springy spikes, soft and silky even when being soaked in a shower. As the long golden strands wound around his fingers, he sighed, and kept scrubbing gently, careful to keep it from the other's crystal clear blue eyes.

"Sasuke?" he paused, glancing down at the blonde.

"Hn," he mumbled, signaling he was paying attention. He kept rubbing.

"You don't think he'll tell anyone, do you?" The raven was already shaking his shaggy, soaked head, wet from the droplets bouncing off the blonde's body. His boxers were clinging to his slender, lean hips, standing out strongly against his pale, flat tummy. And the thin trail of black hair on his stomach led to the wide "V" right above the elastic holding his soaked clothes on. Fine muscles were defined and chisled from his wiry body, dripping water and soap.

(Yes, that's right. I am teasing you. Hahahaha! Poor poor fangirls and fanguys! Mop up that river of drool coming from yo mouth!XD)

He shook once more, flinging more water. He murmured, "First, he wouldn't dare do that," an evil tone shone through his voice in those words, but disappeared in the next, "And I don't think he really knows anything other than you're staying with me, and that's not too out of the ordinary as it is.

Having gotten comfort food for thought, Naruto nodded, Sasuke's finger's following his now sudsy hair, the look on the raven's face making the blonde giggle and grip Sasuke's arm tighter, and his other hand slipped, making him lean closer.

His nose accidently brushed against the raven's and quickly retracted, apologizing as he flinched in the pain from moving too fast.

Bolts shot up the Uchiha's spine, settling in his brain as gush.

Having no clue that he'd just made Sasuke's pride wither and die, because just that simple touch had made the other go absolutely faint with flutters, Naruto looked up into the raven's murky, glazed-over eyes.

_A blush rose on his face, as he realized how very close they were. In the shower. Lathery and soapy, with Sasuke's arms almost looping around him, fingers wrapped in his golden locks, and his own hand clutching at the raven's lean, muscular arm._

_He gasped, and blushed harder, trying to back up. He slipped, falling forward into the other's warm hold. His back bent, his chest touching Sasuke's and suddenly, thier lips met, gently and explosively..._

"Sasuke? Are you alright?" Naruto waved the wall hand in front of his face and tried to snap, grimacing as three or four cuts rubbed together by mistake.

(Oh snap! Show of hands! Who fell for it? LolXD Suckers! Come on, no pouting. I swear, it'll happen. Maybe not like that, but similar. Promise. Read on!)

The raven sighed, and switched places with his friend, letting the shampoo soak, even though it wasn't nessessary. He let himself admitt it. He had just fantasized.

As he lathered his own head, he noticed Naruto's gaze on him, and blushed, carefully keeping his eyes away. He watched the soap on the wall from him mistakenly flinging it, and it slid slowly down, till it was swept away by the rushing hot water.

Across from him, the blonde was looking at him, thinking about what he had been feeling yesterday. He didn't really know _what_ he felt, but he did know that the only logical answer he had he wasn't ever going to admit to. For all he cared, these feelings could go bother someone else. It wouldn't matter, even if he had admitted them, he thought privately to himself, tearing his gaze away from the strikingly handsome nineteen year old across from him.

He didn't know that it's hard for people like them to fall out of love so quickly.

* * *

He made his way down the hall, the bag with new bandiads and gauze tape slung over his shoulder along with his extra shirts and a pair of sweats.

He'd officially been demoted, as far as _he _was concerned.

He'd been called to the office, and ordered to take Kakashi's things to his room, because he was going 'shopping' for his staying at Sasuke's place. Why was he going there anyways? Nobody told him, and they'd made it clear he wasn't going to ask.

_How troublesome,_ Shikamaru gumbled to himself, hefting the bag lower and letting it dangle.

* * *

As he rinsed out the other's spikes, he chuckled.

A large blob of sud was trekking down Naruto's cheek, and the blonde was trying to watch it's progress from the corner of his eyes, twitching his nose.

As his own hair staying drenched in conditioner, Sasuke gently massaged the lathers from Naruto's scalp, wiping away any that threatened to drip into his eyes. His cheeks were pink, and his brilliant eyes were staring obtusely at the blob, as it slid over his cuts.

He flinched then, and the raven hurriedly wiped it off, putting water where it'd stung the half-fresh wound.

A faint knocking interrupted his thoughts, and he paused, making the other look up with a question.

_What is it?_

"Hn," he shrugged, and basically said that he didn't know. Then, continuing, he brushed some hair out of the blonde's face, smoothing it silently back against his head.

Knock Knock Knock.

Sasuke cursed this time, recognizing what it was.

"Naruto, stay here for a second. I'll be right back," he whispered, his voice just rising over the pounding if the water all around them.

A look of panic came to the bright cerulean eyes, and Sasuke shh-ed him gently, saying it was just the door being knocked on.

He cursed again, and got out, giving Naruto instructions to hold onto the back of the toilet, a little over three inches from the tub. As his tanned fingers wrapped around the curved porcelain surface, he watched the towel-wrapped butt disappear from sight, shutting the door. The steam-fogged-mirror did little to help the blonde's sudden anxiety.

He heaved a sigh, and watched the door.

* * *

As the suds dripped from his hair onto his shoulders, cheeks, and the already stained beige carpeting, Sasuke flung the lock off and the door opened to reveal a somewhat angry Shikamaru. His gaze relaxed, and he nodded, murmuring, "This is becoming a regular thing, isn't it, Nara?"

"What happened?" Sasuke stiffened, and averted his eyes, remaining silent. Then, spotting the sack Shika was carrying, he reached over, only to have it lifted from his grasp. He scowled darkly, but the brunette was unaffected, and his gaze didn't waver.

"Hand it over, Shikamaru," he muttered, still not looking at the other in the face. Instead, he tightened his towel again, and scanned the hallway cautiously for girls, a little wary. The pitch black towel was still wound tightly around his waist, but you could never be too careful. He didn't want to see thier reaction if...fuck. He remembered he was wearing boxers anyways, and whipped the towel off, exasperated.

At this the brunette raised a brow and then asked softly, "Please. What happened?"

Sasuke knew what he meant, but remained quiet, not looking at him.

The other sighed, nodded and said, "Then at least tell me why he's staying here."

Silence.

"Then tell me why no one will tell me."

The raven finally looked up, staring neutrally at the brunette. He moved his lips, but didn't voice it.

"What?"

"Because it's not your concern," he murmured, then smiled grimly, "I'm sure you've just about figured it out by now anyways, _Nara_."

"That doesn't mean I don't like confirmation," he smiled thinly, and hefted the bag over gently, letting Sasuke grab it from him quickly. As the other ten began to close the door though, a foot wedged it to stop it, and Shikmaru leaned to the crack and mumbled, just loud enough to hear, "Take care of him, _Uchiha_."

Sasuke nodded slowly, a wry smile on his face, and whispered back, "Thank you."

His pride was taking quite a beating this week. Naruto, Tsunade, and Kakashi had been the only one's to ever receive a thank you from Mr. Sasuke Uchiha. They'd probably have died being the last, when Shikamaru saved both him and Naruto the day before. That deserved a thank you.

Before the stunned teen could say anything back, he shut the door, effectively stomping on the brunette's foot and removing it. There. Killing two birds with one stone. His guilt over not telling someone who obviously cared about his blonde, coupled with his wounded pride. Thanked and stomped.

As he locked the door, he heard a loud crash and groan from the bathroom.

His head and body turned, less than a millisecond behind his feet as all three dropped the bag and opened the bathroom door up, panic clear in his deep, masculine voice as he asked loudly, "Naruto? What happened?"

Silence. A whimper.

Sasuke swallowed, and stepped in, closing the door so the room would stay warm. He got closer, and another whimper sounded from inside. He realized it was coming from the bottom of the tub, and whipped the curtain back.

He gasped, sighed, and blushed crimson all at once.

Apparently, from what he could gather without asking and therefore bursting into very un-Uchiha-like giggles, Naruto he tried to wash out the conditioner from his own hair, and slipped on the resulting soap that gathered on the floor. He must've grabbed the bottle by accident as he tried to get hold of the shower rod to stop his fall. It'd hit the ground, and the lid popped open, thick white conditioner squirting on the blonde's face.

"Sasuke?" He asked, big, creamy white blobs of hair soap dripping off and running down his scratched up face. His cheeks were red, and he was sprawled, basically spread-eagle on the bathtub floor.

Blushing harder, the raven grabbed a towel and began to wipe off the smears of white. He could suppress his urges, he knew, but he also knew that no matter how much of a tight-ass you were (which I like to think he knows he is), there was sometimes no pushing down _somethings._ (Hope you got that:P)

He finished, and helped the blonde up, jumping back into the shower, and asking softly, "Did you finish, or is there still soap in?"

Naruto shook his head, spikes glistening and dripping. Sasuke lifted him and sat down in the tub, Naruto in his lap, putting the towel he'd used on the bottom of the tub, letting it get wet, soft, and full of moisture before setting the other down on it. He flinched, but then sighed and relaxed, sitting straight up, careful not to lean back into the raven, who was privately laughing at the blonde's valiant effort, and would've appreciated it...if it hadn't been counterproductive to_ his _happiness.

He gently wrapped his arm around the other's waist, and carefully tugged, making the blonde lean back into his chest. His body shuddered, and he sighed, hands going up to Naruto's hair and began to scrub, fat streaks of soap slipping out from deep in the crevasses of his golden mane. Sasuke leaned his legs against the sides of the tub and murmured, "Are you alright?"

The other nodded and he smiled secretly, keeping up his scrubbing. Finally no more came out and he remembered his own hair. He cursed at himself, and wondered how he was gonna maneuver _this_ one.

"Teme?" The blonde's voice was soft, like the sun on new snow, and the raven's eyes eased, thoughts flitting from his mind, paying attention.

"Hn?" He kept massaging Naruto's scalp, and the other didn't say anything for a moment, but then a chuckle came and he muttered gently, "What about your hair?"

_Damn._ Sasuke sighed, and nodded.

"I realize your point. I uh...thought of this," he improvised and hoped Naruto didn't pick at it.

"Well...what did you think of?"

Silence.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Sasuke? How are we supposed to get up from here?"

_Dunno._ "We don't have to get up right now, do we?"

"I'm hungry." The blonde's voice had a teasing lilt.

_We have pizza. _"Just a moment, let me finish your hair before I start on mine.

_Gotta think o' somethin'! Think, Sasuke, think, damn you! Think!_

"Sasuke?" the other voice was sickly sweet now, and he was smiling widely, grin hurting his cheeks but revealing two very large canines. The raven bowed his head in defeat, forehead touching the back of Naruto's golden hair. Water muffled thier speaking, and drowned out the outside world, making it just them.

"Hn?" he asked miserably.

"You have no plan, do you, teme?" The shred of pride the Uchiha had remaining rose up and defended its master.

_No, but here goes the ol' improvisation. _"Yes, baka, I do. I'll grab the rim of the tub and stand, and then rinse my hair. Then I'll get a towel for you and drip dry as I dry you off."

Proud of his tiny pride, the raven nearly puffed up his chest, but instead just remained silent, letting the other stew in defeat.

"Come on then," Naruto unexpectedly said.

Without a word, Sasuke employed his brilliant plot and stood, black boxers gleaming with moisture and clinging tightly to his lower half, raven hairs leading mysteriously down into the front elastic. Naruto swallowed and blushed hot pink, blue eyes crackling.

"Hurry, Sasuke," he whined, acting more like himself, "I'm hunnngrryyy!"

He bit his bottom lip and pouted, one singular canine sticking out to hold the firm, full lip in place while also letting it quiver. Overcome with the cute factor, the raven looked hurriedly away and began to rinse out his own hair, scrubbing his visible body as best he could.

Then, remembering, he helped Naruto up and started to lather his palms up with the body wash, smearing it over the other's tanned stomach and chest, moving on to his back, careful to avoid the mutli-colored bruises and pulsing lacerations, half-raw from the steaming hot bath water that was continuously beating down on it. Then, after checking with Naruto first, he washed the blonde's butt and groin, gentle and non-blushing, knowing it just had to be done.

"Sasuke?" The other murmured, his hands resting on the shower wall, fingers splayed and gripping the spiky concrete between the tiles.

"Hn."

"I still have bandages on my toes, you know."

Sasuke looked down, surprised, and saw that there were, infact, band aids still wrapped tightly around the blonde's tiny digits, hugging them protectively.

_Well I'll be damned._

Then, suddenly thinking of something from the earlier night, the raven leaned forward and slowly turned Naruto to face him, the other's tanned fingers gripping his arms tightly.

Sasuke closed the distance between them and...

Hugged the blonde, smiling his special 'Naruto smile', and whispered into the kitling's ear, "Thank you for not letting me be lonely again."


	10. Friends and Fangirls

**Disclaimer: Do you honestly think i'd be here talking to you people, whom I don't even know, If I owned someone as fine as Naruto Uzumaki? Fuck _NO._** No offense.

**Hey guys. How has your waiting been? Yosh! Gomen. I've been trying to make it non-suckish, and i'm not sure I succeeded, but i'm determind to stick with this one and work out kinks. I love this story so far, but I'm sorry this chappie is a little short.**

**~~~~~Also, I know it might be too much detail, as one of my friends pointed out recently, so I'd like to know your viewpoint. There is a poll on my profile. Vote whether or not you want me to dial down on the detail. You can vote or tell me extensively through your reviweing. Either works for me. Thank you! Please Enjoy.**

**Plus, I have a warning for you guys.**

_**In the coming chapters, you will laugh, cry, be sad, happy, all the colours of the rainbow, catch a trout, pass your kidney stone, plant a tree, find a lost sock, and maybe even find love...okay. That one was a hope for me. Lol.**_

**_YOSH!_**

**_LETS GET THIS PARTAY STARTED!_**

'I'd Come For You' by Nickleback

* * *

"Fish...soda...ramen...eggs...porn novel..." Kakashi was shopping.

He strolled the aisles and plucked seemingly random things from the shelves, even picking up a sack of potatoes and weighing it in his fist. He smiled under his mask and puts it in the cart's bottom, humming a strange tune.

"I wonder what I should get Sasuke as food," he murmured as he walked down the frozen food section, a little spring in his step.

"Shopping Shopping Shopping by my self. Shopping by myself! Shopping shopping shopping!"

As he sifted through a trough of 'On-Sale' item, he picked up two cans of peas, examining them before putting them in the cart. Then, shifting the pile, he grabbed a bag of carrots. Closing his eyes as he thought, he sighed and shook his head. While peas couldn't be complained about, many nasty things could be said by the Uchiha boy about carrots. The orange veggie had only one thing going for it. It was orange. _His_ favorite colour.

He put them back and gave up, wandering over to the fruit. Seeing something from his periphial vision, he turned his head. He blinked, and chuckled. There, sitting, as if undecided, was a tray of avacados and tomatoes. Little baskets of cherry tomatoes sat next to it, and he wandered over, selecting three juicy '**Beef Masters**' big full-size ones. He bundled them in a plastic bag and nestled them next to his brand new novel.

Glancing at it, he restrained a girlish squeal of excitement.

_I can't believe I've loved Yaoi so long and finally get to be in the middle of one!_

(A/N: He speaks of course of SasuNaru action! Yatta!)

As he contained his happiness, he thought about the past week and a half. He'd moved in the day the boys had taken the bath, though he wasn't aware of it. Of course neither of the teens would tell 'Hentai'. As Naruto and Iruka sometimes called him. He sighed, 'pfft'ed, and rolled the cart down into the fruits, selecting a few apples and oranges, grabbing a satchel of bananas. Next he went to the bed accessories section and got a fluffy pillow, irritated with Sasuke not letting him have one, just because he'd helped get all of thiers.

Sasuke had asked for his help to get more pillows, because it helped Naruto and Tsunade refused to give them any more. So he'd snuck down to the janitors' room and told the man that Sasuke Uchiha needed ten more pillows for his fetish. The raven had snatched the bundle of soft away and slammed the dorm door on him, face as red hot as an Uchiha's was allowed to be without self-imploding, leaving him to rot outside all night and the next day. Finally he'd begged entry upon threatening to scream about Sasuke's supposed fetish for soft humpable things.

Now he'd been given shopping duties and was actually beginning to enjoy himself. Of course, being the Yaoi Fangirl he was, he'd immediatly caught on to what was going on. Not that he'd said anything.

Fufufufufufufufu...yet.

* * *

Naruto was waiting for Sasuke to return from outside the dorm, and winced, as he shifted to get better audio on the fight in the hallway.

The raven had made the mistake of trying to do laundry, a little over twenty minutes ago. A lookout had spotted him,apparently from a fangirl group and sounded, 'The Alarm'. It would seem that his 'groupies' had taken it upon themselves to stage an intervention.

The blonde surpressed a bark of laughter as he remembered his friend's face when he'd opened the door, clothes basket in hand. He'd blinked, and been snatched away, leaving a very befuddled blonde on the couch, and therefore out of the line of view. However, escaping , the raven had lost Naruto's favorite shirt, and despite protestations on the younger teens end, had dove back into the fray to retrieve it.

Shaking his head, Naruto grimaced, noting that he sohuldn't repeat the action. He was mostly healed, but for his ribs and his mentality. He'd only had one fit since Kakashi had arrived, and the silver had just watched, shaking in rage for the blonde and wishing he could help.

Sasuke had held him and soothed him, keeping him firmly grasped until he'd fallen asleep again, it being the middle of the night.

Shuddering and quickly dismissing the thought, he turned his attention span, however short, back to the ruckus outside.

_(...Did she just make me say 'ruckus'?)_

_****__(I DID...WHAT OF IT BLONDIE? *LIGHTNING FLASHES AND THUNDER ROARS*)_

_(Meep.)_

_"_Get away from Sasuke_, _you hags!" Sakura's war cry could be heard from over the loud yells and shouts. "Sasuke! Run!"

Naruto held back a chuckle, and sat up, wincing slightly, his almost-gone wounds troubling him less. As he listened, he could hear a thumping from the next room over, and he stood, leaning against the wall for support, flinching at the pain in his sides. But with several days solid bedrest, he could definitely stand it, and took a few steps, to where he could look at the dorm door.

It felt like an earthquake, and he was wobbling more than usual, making his way over to the big black frame, and peeking through the peephole into the fray.

He grimaced, and gritted his teeth, seeing what was going on. But at the same time had to hold back his laughter at the oddity of it all.

Sasuke was backed into a corner, the orange shirt clenched in his fist, a look of utter desperation on his face, and Sakura was defending him, her special pink boxing gloves on. She had won several tournamets, but the crowd in the hall was huge, and she was being overwhelmed.

Across the hallway, a door was open, and its occupants were shouting and trying to get to Sakura to help. Gaara and Neji were fierce members of the martial arts club and were taking down as many as they could as they tried to get past the virtual sea of people. Ino was in the crowd, pushing towards Sasuke like a rabid dog.

"SASUKE-KUN! DON'T TRY TO RUN FROM OUR LOVE! I KNOW HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!"

"Then go away, you imbecile!" Sakura shouted, and Sasuke nodded firmly behind her, eyes wide as he grimaced. He backed up more, his lithe body smacking gently into the wall. He growled at the closest girl and glared daggers. She swooned, blushing, and charged ahead. He snapped at her, and Neji smashed into her, having just made it into the middle of the battle. Gaara was pushing along behind him, and slid his back up against the chocolate-haired boy's own, smirking coldy.

"Let's do this, baby."

Neji smirked back, and pushed back against the red head, nodding.

"Let's kick some ass!"

A round of teens tried to make it past and got a face-full of fist. Neji's hands were wrapped in brown gauze, and he was going at it like blue on a smurf, whirling around before sidling back up against Gaara. The redhead's pale seafoam eyes were flicking around, and he stuck his hands in his pockets, lifting a foot and letting it hang, as a group came at him.

Naruto watched, amazed and awed, as he delivered a powerful kick directly into the stomach of one of the assailants, knocking her into the far wall with a thud. Neji chuckled darkly, as they went at it, returning to each other's sides after each hit. The red never used his hands, but kept kicking, and the cream-eyed boy whirled and danced around, his slashes and punches flying.

Somewhere along the way, their eyes met, and the message was clear; 'This-is-damn-fun!'

Meanwhile, the raven had recovered enough to start to bettle on his own, but fought with only one hand, the other latched onto the shirt. He was fighting and smacking the girls around, but was getting seriously freaked out by the way they all flocked to him, begging to be hit.

Sakura, ever the anti-fangirl, delivered volley after volley of KOs, fists flying. Her hair was tied back with a black ribbon and her long pink bangs were whipping around her face, the spikes embedded into the tips cutting the people who got too close. Her black undershirt and combat boots were hugging her, as her loose baggy pants breathed and let her move quickly.

"Sasuke! Try to get back to your room!"

Suddenly, the stakeout had turned into an all-out war.

* * *

Kakashi whistled as he strolled his cart along to his car, a swish in his hips. He'd found the perfect thing. Not the Sasuke wouldn't absolutey murder him for it, but still. For ten seconds of the face he knew he'd get, it was only _too_ worth it. A sly smirk was on his face, and he pushed the button on the remote, looking around to see where his sedan was.

It beeped in the far corner, and he stared. Blink. He didn't remember walking all that far...

* * *

The battle raged on. Naruto had retreated onto the bed, and was on the verge on calling for Tsunade, when Sasuke burst through the door, and a pink head came in as well. Quickly, panicked, the small blonde hid under the bulky covers and pillows, which were like a mountain, on the bed and piled on the carpet around it. He burrowed deeper and heard heavy footsteps, along with the slamming of a door.

"Damn. What a bunch of mindless whores," Sakura's voice echoed through the pantings of the room. Outside his little cave, Naruto could imagine what was going on.

_Neji was sitting on the couch, Gaara on the arm of it next to him, and Sakura was glaring at the ceiling, standing next to the fridge. Sasuke was putting the shirt back in the laundry basket, and locking the two deadbolts. Kakashi could figure out something to do until the crap died down outside. He then turned and his eyes settled on the bed, a hard edge to his gaze._

_**Shit. Why did they have to come in with me? But...what now?**_

_He bit the inside of his cheek, and walked over to the pile of soft on the bed, shifting it until he had cleared a sitting spot. He relaxed on it and sighed. Nothing for it now._

_"Yeah," Neji spoke, his deep voice tired and irritated, "Can't they just get a damn life?"_

_"I agree," the redhead beside him spoke, and nodded solemnly. Sasuke reached deeper into the covers and found Naruto's hand, gripping it comfortingly._

"Hey, Sasuke?" the raven looked up at the pinkette across his room. She had her brows furrowed, and was watching him closely, "What's with the bunker of comfort?"

He scowled, but she didn't relent, and soon all eyes were on him, questioning. He sighed, and the tension leaked from the room quickly. He patted the hand he held, and a silent but blarring question echoed between the kit and the raven.

_Can I tell?_

The hand tightened and paused, before the covers rustled and the small teen's head poked out, bandages on his cheeks and fear in his cerulean orbs. Sasuke's eyes widened and he let Naruto go, ignoring the exclaimations around the room.

"Naruto? What the-" Sakura began, but stammered to a halt.

"!"

"!"

That was the only response, other than the widening of both pairs of eyes, that it got from the stoic pair on the couch.

He wrapped the covers around himself and scooted closer to the raven, gulping. Sasuke spoke first.

"Naruto has been staying here for the past two weeks or so."

Sakura was the first to recover and stepped forward, "What? Why?"

The raven looked over at the blonde, a question in his face, and the other nodded, but his own plea was carved into it. Sasuke nodded slightly, and turned back to the three people in front of them.

He then told their story. At the description he gave them of how he'd found Naruto, Sakura seemed to lose control of her legs and collapsed with a thud on the ground, eyes wide and filled with tears.

When he was done, Neji's eyes were averted and he was shaking with anger, Gaara matching him. Sakura was sitting there, weeping silently for the blonde, and Naruto had hidden back in the thick pile of blankets. Sasuke got closer and pulled him into a tight hug, the golden hair tickling his chin and cheeks as he held the other.

"Naruto...I.." Sakura mumbled, and stuttered to a halt, lowering her eyes and drooping her pink head, gritting her teeth quietly.

On the couch, the red head and the Hyuuga teen had their fists clenched, but said nothing, not able to look at the blonde directly.

"Sasuke? Guys?" the soft voice immediatly got everyone's attention, and the raven loosened his grip so he could get a clear look at the small nineteen year old he held. Th blonde's eyes were shadowed by his thick gold and he smiled winningly, a bug grin taking over his bruised skin.

"Dobe?"

Taking a quiet but deep breath, he charged ahead, "It's okay now. Sasuke-teme saved me. I'm o-"

Sasuke cut him off, and pulled him closer by a few millimeters, hands clenching on his baggy clothes, "No, Naruto. Don't. Not with them." _Not with me._

He reached and gripped Naruto's chin, making him look up. There were huge tears in his blue eyes, and he bit his lip, looking away, his brow furrowed slightly, and he looked determind but ashamed.

"Look at me." the Uchiha's voice was soft but firm, and slowly the sad blue orbs focused on the raven's face once more.

"You don't have to act strong anymore. Baka." Naruto gasped softly, and his own fists wrapped around the other's arms. He buried his face into his best friend's chest and sobbed, his chest heaving with the tears he'd tried to hide.

Sakura observed this, her shaking subsiding, with a certain satisfaction. It was there. She could see it.

* * *

As he finally got all the stuff packed into the trunk and back seat, the silver shut the doors and rolled the cart away, not bothering to watch it go...wherever it went. That's another story entirely. Instead, he climbed into his white sedan and buckled up, starting it up and patting the item in the passanger's seat.

He chuckled coldly and backed out of his space, before taking off out of the parking lot.

* * *

Sakura kept watching the two, Sasuke rocking his friend in his lap, 'shh'-ing him softly until his was only sitting there in the raven's warm, firm grasp.

Yes. The love was definitely there.

* * *

**Okay, so Kakashi's shopping trip has yielded a new and mysterious item, and now three more people know about our little blondie. What next?**

**REVIEW REVOLUTION!**


	11. My Muffin Man

'This is War' by 30 Seconds to Mars

* * *

**Events from four days ago:**

_"OI! BRATS!" Tsunade's scream echoed throughout the entire school grounds, and the whole crowd of fighting people froze, heads slowly turning. Shikamaru and Kiba were standing behind the busty principal, one smirking at the battlers, the other looking out the window lazily. The two brunettes had been in thier dorm together, watching tv, when the fight had begun, and had gone to get_ _her. She was glaring at them, fist clenched, and people there that day swear that she had red eyes, her hair writhing around her angry face._

_"Tch. Who started this shit?" she growled dangerously low, and flicked her eyes around, until they landed on Ino. The glass-blonde gulped and retreated a few feet, before shouting, "It was all that bastard fox's fault!"_

_Nods and calls of approvement came out, but as they grew louder, the door beside the crowd slammed open, and the great Duck Butt himself stepped forward, eyes like murder and death._

_"Lies," he hissed. Ino, surprised, stared at him for several milliseconds before shaking her head and stepping closer, a devious glint in her eyes. She grinned cruely and went on._

_"No, Sasuke-kun! He was just being a stupid, useless monster! You know it's tru-" she was cut off by a pink fist connecting to her face, and Sakura stood over her, heaving and growling._

_"Lies," she echoed the raven who stood behind her._

_"Sasuke. Sakura," Tsunade nodded, acknowledging them and appriciating thier help in shutting up that dumb bitch._

_"I came out to do laundry, and suddenly was attacked by these damn bitches,"' the Uchiha's voice was like poison and he spat it at the stunned girls who stood around, frozen._

_Sakura nodded, and Neji and Gaara materialized from behind both of them, growling thier agreement. Sasuke nodded slightly to them. Tsunade raised a brow and glanced at the raven. He nodded again, and she relaxed, an unspoken conversation coming to an end. Sakura began to go wild now, slamming into Ino, her eyes beginning to tear up slightly. Sasuke put a hand on her arm, just as she wound up for another swing._

_"Sakura."_

_She scowled, but stepped back, gritting her teeth angrily at being called back from her rampage._

_"Get away from here, you filthy-" Sasuke stopped, unable to think of a single suitable word for them. For the first time in awhile, he didn't know what to say._

_Later, as the crowd dispersed, each person was given different punishments, all for a month._

_Except...for the people who were inside a room when the principal got there. Tsunade let them go with an apology for the mess._

* * *

"Sasuke? Open up," Sakura's voice came again from the other side of the door. She looked down at Kakashi, who hadn't been in the room for nearly three and a half days, and nodded a hello. He wasn't given any sympathy, and Sasuke had already told him that if he wished to say something about the fettish the silver had made up, he wouldn't live through the night.

...Kakashi hadn't said anything as of yet about Sasuke's supposed fettish for pillows and thier like.

"Hey." The man nodded back, his mood sullen. Tsunade told him not to leave the dorm unguarded unless nessessary, and she'd skin him if she saw him going back to his place to eat...or sleep...or take a shower...thankfully, though, there was a regular bathroom near the room, or very unpleasant things could've happened. As it was though, a vile smell was coming from him, and he mumbled something under his breath as the door opened.

"What was that about my mother, Kakashi? Didn't _quite_ get that," Sasuke leant down and whispered, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The silver said nothing, and scooted away a little bit. Sakura shoved past the raven, and he shut the door, rolling his eyes.

Inside the room, it was dark as usual, but a cozy dark. One that wrapped around you and held you close, giving you peace and warmth. Sasuke followed the pinketteand sat next to the napping blonde on the bed, and looked at him softly, brushing his loose hair from his face. Naruto snuggled closer and smiled a little.

_He's so cute..._

Sakura watched silently, and smiled secretly. Then, deciding, she murmured gently, "Why don't you tell him?"

Sasuke stiffened, and his face was shadowed by his coal black bangs, a thin smile on his lips.

"Is it that obvious?"

The girl sighed and nodded, "To me. I'm not sure about anyone else. But I know what love looks like."

He turned from the smaller teen next to him an looked up, face neutral, masked. As Sasuke shook his head though, the pinkette spoke again.

"He needs someone to say it. And he needs someone to believe in."

"He doesn't need to know I..." he couldn't say it aloud.

Sakura smiled sympathetically, and shook her head sadly, "He needs someone to lean on."

"He has me."

"Does he?" The pink-haired girl look at the slumbering face of the blonde and smiled again.

Sasuke looked at him too.

_He'll always have me..._

"Then you should tell him."

"What if..."

_What if I ruin everything by doing so?_

"What if he doesn't feel the same?" Sasuke nodded slighlty, and she went on, "Well, lets cross that bridge it it hops out infront of us."

That, dispite himself, coaxed a bark of laughter from the stoic teen. He nodded and looked back at Naruto, a gentle smile on his face. He reached over and cupped the blonde's scarred cheek in one hand, brushing away imaginary tears with his thumb.

"Hn."

* * *

For those who knew about Naruto, every day was filled with anger towards thier own classmates. It wasn't a healthy environment to say the very least. And classroom time was extremely awkward.

The first time the teacher reprimanded Neji for not paying attention, he gave her a glare so cold it could've frozen hell twice. Needless to say, this little episode didn't need further demonstration.

After thier initial rage had passed, and been put in a low simmer in thier stomachs, the three teens would try to visit Naruto at least once every two days. They would bring him a soda, or a bag of chips, or just a magazine to help wind away the day. Kakashi had been guarded at first, but soon begged Sakura to bring him some spare clothes from his classroom, which he'd temporarily abandoned. A substitute was in place, and the students grades were rising in that class. Suprise suprise.

As the blonde's body healed, his mental strength raised too, and he hadn't had a fit since Neji, Gaara, and Sakura had been told the story. When they got too close to him, Sasuke would gently but firmly warn them off, afraid of the repurcussions of such things. Sakura wanting to give Naruto a hug wasn't ranked near as high on his list of important things, as his desire to keep him safe was. In fact, it was bouncing on the cold bricks of rock bottom.

Soon, though, the blonde's ribs had healed fully, and the day before the check up at the hospital, Kakashi was allowed inside again. Sasuke swung the door open to reveal the snoozing silver, grabbing him by his shirt and yanking him into the bathroom quietly, not wanting to disturb the already asleep Naruto.

Shaking him, he brought the man close to him, until his lips were right beside his ear.

"If you _ever _try to get Naruto to know my feelings again like that, you will wish you'd _never_ heard the name Uchiha Sasuke. In fact, I will make it so you don't _remember_ ever knowing an Uchiha Sasuke. You'll be wrapped up in a nice, cozy white walled place with fluffy rooms and big needles. I'll kill every _shred_ of sanity _in_ you if you _ever_ do something that reckless to me again. _DO YOU UNDERSTAND?_" He whispered furiously, his hot breath washing over the now freezing skin of the teacher. He nodded quickly and swallowed past the gluey lump in his throat.

"Can't hear you, Kakashi. Speak up please."

"O-O-okay, Sasuke. Okay, already. It was only a joke, anyways," he stammered, trying to chuckle. It came out strangled.

"So you call getting Naruto and me a book on 'One Hundred and One Fun Positions' a fucking joke? What would've happened if he'd _seen it?_ You'd have to be completely _mental_ to think I wouldn't kick your damn _ass_ for that!"

His hair was shadowing his eyes, and he was still whisper-ranting furiously, when a knock came at the bathroom door.

"S'ske? I've gotta go."

"Eh-okay. One second." He grabbed the silver and shoved him into the shower, somehow ripping his smelly shirt off and ordering him to strip the rest, turning the water onto warm. The man let out a shriek and tried to escape the barrage of freezing water that hadn't had time to heat up. Within seconds he was soaked and growling miserably as he did as he was told.

"Come in."

Naruto, with a sheet trailing from his shoulders, came in. Sasuke turned to him, face softening, and gasped softly.

~I'm going to freeze here to fully describe our little kitling~

_As he blinked at the bright flourescent lighting, his huge blue eyes shone like crazy, and his tan skin was almost pearly from not being in the sun. His cheeks had long-since scarred over and dark black lines defined his 'whiskers', as they'd come to call them. He had one of the raven's black and red sheets trailing from his bare, still visibly muscled shoulders, where one of Sasuke's big dark blue shirts hung, drooping just enough for him to have to pull it up often. He'd stretched it out so it wouldn't constrict, and now it hung from both of them when they wore it._

_His golden hair bounced slightly as he stepped, and his naked legs were lean but strong, bruises faint and fading. A single creamy bandge was still wrapped around a long cut on his ankle, and was in the process of healing. The big shirt was hiked up and rolled onto itself from sleep, and a large sliver of light tan skin was showing, the V of muscle lined with Naruto's tiny blonde curls, leading below the elastic strap of the boxers._

_He was smaller than the raven by one-fourth of a head and he looked up at him, mouth forming an 'o'. He had on his own long orange boxers with two black suns on either side of his slim hips. They were dark on his body, which on anyone else would've looked retarded, but he made them work perfectly. He uncurled a fist that was in the sheet and waved, a look of confusion on his face, as he glanced at the shower._

_"What..?_

I had to. You had to understand just how adorable I view our blondie. Ahem. Back to the chapter now~

"What..?" He stepped closer, but Sasuke stopped him, one hand on his nose, the other held in front of his body. His voice came, muffled, from beneath his palm.

"Uh-uh. It's just Kakashi in there. I'm making sure he's clean for tomorrow," and pointed at the toilet.

"Hi, Naru-" The silver's eyes widened, and he retracted swiftly back into the curtains to treat his gushing nosebleed.

"Ne? Kakashi?" But the blonde was stopped by his friend, as he shook his head and muttered, "Don't bother with him. He's just being a perv."

"You have a nosebl-" Sasuke grabbed the silver through the curtain and shoved him under the now scorching water, effectively silencing him. Naruto just went over and shrugged, lowering his boxers. The raven looked away to conceal his blush.

Once the other was gone and the door was shut, the dark-eyes boy swung around and wrenched the curtain back, nearly off the rod, and growled. Then blinked and chuckled at the sight, his face relaxing it's glare.

Kakashi was sitting down, blood running down the drain, and a sad look was on his face, which was concealed by a drenched mask. He was pouting. Also, his face was beet red from the burning water. His feet were pulled up to his grey boxers, and his shirt was clinging to his frame, tall and lean, much the same as the raven who was laughing at him.

Stopping, the teen grabbed the shampoo and popped the cap, drizzling it on the whitish spikes that were dripping wet. The other's stormy grey eyes looked up, still pouting.

"You didn't have to burn my face off like that, Sasuke. It wasn't nessessary at all."

"It was entertaining though."

"Meanie," still in full pout mode, Kakashi stood up and stripped himself of his pants, throwing them at the raven, who dodged and pointed at him.

"Get clean. I'll be back in ten minutes with the clothes I chose for you to wear."

"Yes _mother,"_ Kakashi grinned at the resulting growl and slamming of the door.

Then, sighing in relief as the warm water washed over his smelly skin, he scrubbed and scrubbed, loving the way the soap felt after so many days, and enjoying the lather that slid over his smooth, flat tummy. It snaked along the happy trail of silver hairs into his boxers. As his hair frothed up, he took the last shred of material off and began to wash.

* * *

Naruto dug around in the small breakfast box that worked as a pantry and giggled, grabbing a blueberry muffin. He straightened up, hissed lowly because he was still a bit sore and bruised. Dismissing the pain, though, he unwrapped the baked good and ripped a piece off, stuffing it in his mouth and smiling at he chewed.

Flavor exploded as he chomped into a berry. He giggled again, this time muffled by his food. As he swallowed his mouthful, he went over to the bed, wriggling his rear. Rejecting any negative thoughts with practice, he leapt, ignoring the pain said action caused. He laughed softly as he landing in the middle of the gigantic mountain of pillows and blankets. However, a mountain in shape, it was. He began to roll off the bed and landed on the pillows that were piled around the bottom for this very purpose. He blinked as he kept rolling, blueberry muffin caught between his teeth. He rolled until he came to a stop beside the coffee table, thankfully not hitting it.

Getting up, he still hadn't noticed the raven, standing in the hallway connecting the room to the en-suite bathroom and watching him softly, a warm and loving smile covering his face. Though he'd had a freakin' heart attack when the blonde had fallen from the bed, he was gazing at the happy smiling face now, and couldn't help but chuckle.

The action made Naruto glance around, and he took the blueberry muffin from his mouth, chewing before he said, "Hey S'ske." The gentle smile hardened a bit to hide the obvious love.

The Uchiha nodded back and walked to the fridge, grabbing a can of soda from inside and shutting it again, as Naruto snuck up behind him and grabbed him around the neck. He smirked and snaked his arms around the blonde's own, throwing the-unopened-can on the couch.

"Yes, dobe?"

Naruto buried his face in the raven's back, making him blush a little, and murmured, "My muffin."

The blush intensified, and he stuttered for a few milliseconds.

"M-Muffin?"

The blonde behind him nodded, "I've decided that the optimum postion for you not to be able to steal my muffin...is here!"

Sasuke sighed, the blush draining quite a bit. He chuckled, relieved but disappointed at the same time.

"Ah. Baka." He whirled, stooping slightly to pick Naruto up bridal style. He then spun them, listening to the other giggling and holding on tightly to his neck. He chuckled and tossed him effectively into the huge pile of comfort on the bed, making him tunnel deep inside. A muffled shout of laughter came continuesly from the pile, and Sasuke went over to it, patting it's top.

"Soo...where was that muffin of yours?" Then he spotted it. The confection was sitting on his chest of drawers, a big bite taken from the side top. He got up and grabbed it. The blankets writhed around until the toppled off the opposite side of the bed and a little golden head popped up, growling playfully.

"Oi! Dat is mine! Gimme back!" Naruto pounced, wincing, but kept going, tackling the normally stoic teen. He tickled a spot on the Uchiha's neck, and was surprised greatly when he froze and a shudder ran thourgh him. He turned slowly to the blonde and his face narrowed slyly, his mouth smiling, as he tackled him back, holding the muffin just out of reach as he ruthlessly tickled the smaller teen.

"Oi! OI! Sasuke, don't-Hey, Hahaha! Don't-no! Ah! Not there!" he was laughing so hard tears were coming out and he was doing contortions on the floor, Sasuke grinning like a madman above him.

(A/N: Ok, so I know it's way OOC for Sasu, but I got sick of the stoy being so damn sad. So here, ladies and gentlemen, is your happy chapter! Enjoy. I've got something planned for the next one.)

As they finished, the raven couldn't help but notice the panting and gasps of the other. He blushed slightly, but quickly tried to dismiss it, biting into the muffin. He watched Naruto, and smiled again, as said blondie looked up at him from the floor. Sasuke was sitting cross-legged beside his head and pulled him gently the rest of the way to rest his golden hair on his lap. Naruto lookedaway, presumably at the clock, and therefore the raven completely missed the wild blush that burst across his cheeks.

Frustrated tears came to him for a moment, because he still didn't know...or if he did...refused to admitt what was causing these strange feelings.

He is scared. Who would blame him...

But he knew..or...a part of him did, that he deeply cared for Sasuke. More than a friend. Much more.

_But how can I possibly tell him and ruin everything? It's obvious that he doesn't...me back._

Sasuke hides his feelings all too well...

The raven laughed, smirking down as he chews softly on the mouth of muffin. Blueberry. As the blonde is turned away, he watches him lovingly, his mask disintigrating. When the other glances back at him, his mask is instantly back and he smirks again, chewing more obviously.

Something clicks, and Naruto leans up mouth connecting...with the exposed flesh...of the...muffin.

..

...

...

...

(Hahahahahaha! Poor damn suckers. Had you there, didn't I? But maybe you weren't fooled after last time? Lol. I think its about 50/50? Sorry. Too good not to try.)

Sasuke's eyes widen and e pulls back, his own wad of blueberry nearlt killing him as his throat dries up like a bone, refusing to let the suddenly swallowed food pass. His hand released the muffin and Naruto laughed around it, overly-large canines poking prominently out from his lips and crushing a few berries. He grins and reaches up to take the pastry from his mouth, but is beaten to it by a recovered raven. He pouts and chewsed the bite he'd already ripped off, gulping it down.

The Uchiha takes another bite.

He then tears off a piece and offers it to the other. Naruto looks at both him and it, accepting it. His lips brush the raven's finger tips, exciting a blush from both. Kakashi shouts suddenly, "Sasuke! I'm done now!"

They sigh, and Naruto sits up, wincing at his side but ignoring the pain. He lets the raven hand him the muffin, watching as he sorts out the waiting silver's clothes.

He sighs again, and turns his head away.

_I wish...I wish I wasn't such a coward..._

* * *

Kakashi listens carefully to the wall, wondering. It's been nearly all the time Sasuke alotted him, and now he's just enjoying the warmth.

Yes...he knows.

_I won't be able to save these lovestruck idiots forever..._

He sighs too, climbing out and shutting the water off, wrapping a towel around himself.

_Sasuke...hurry.._

* * *

**Hey guys. Did you like it? Kawai, I hope! XD**

**Review review review review review review!**


	12. Dreams and Denny's

_'_Song in My Head' by Sherwood

* * *

_He stepped closer, and wrapped his arms around the blushing blonde's waist, leaning so his mouth was next to the other's ear. He growled, but didn't speak, licking on the lower part of his ear shell slyly._

_Naruto shudder, blushing fiercer, and tried to pull back, only to be rendered motionless and Sasuke nibbled and licked again, blowing softly on the marked place. He felt his body reacting, as the raven let his hands roam, fingers vaguely brushing over the blonde's nipples, which were hardening slowly under his shirt. He smirked and lowered his head to suckle on the pulse on Naruto's neck, eliciting a groan from the other._

_He pressed himself up against the smaller teen, reaching up under his shirt to roll a pert pink mound between his fingers, as he bit and licked, sucking on the blonde's neck and the junture between his shoulder and the base of his neck. Then, as Naruto's hands went up to fist in his long raven hair he chuckled, and rocked his hips. Naruto gasped and moaned loudly, feeling his continually developing hard-on pressed on roughly. He thrust back without thinking, and Sasuke grunted._

_He was already very hard, and just that little bit of stimulation was almost too much, as it came from the blonde. He lowered his lips more, lifting Naruto's shirt off and began to lick his way down. Carefully avoiding his erect nipples for what seemed like forever, the raven slowly devoured his abs and tummy, poking his tongue into his bellybutton. By the time he kissed the blonde again, the other was flushed hot and practically writhing in his arms._

_He pressed his lips hard onto the other's , teeth immediatly nibbling gently on the blonde's sweet, full, lower lip, begging for entry that he didn't need to ask for. As Naruto's lips spread, Sasuke's tongue swirled instantly into his warm crevasse, rubbing hotly up against his own in a dance of spit and heat. Finally pulling away, Sasuke savored the look of lust on the other's face, planting butterfly soft kisses around the golden's sweating face._

_"S-Sasuke...ngh!" He let out a loud moan as the raven suddenly and without warning clamped his mouth from his face directly down onto one of his stiff pink nipples, tongue starting to lap and circle it, brushing it up and down, making him arch his back and groan in delight. As he did arch, his need pressed into Sasuke's and he loved the sharp pain and pleasure, as the Uchiha suddenly bit down from the rough comtact._

_Just as Sasuke began to really love the sounds he was making the other produce, a louder one took over._

_**Beep beep beep beep beep...beep CRASH! Beeeeeeeeeeeeep. **It ended rather abruptly._

_Sonovabitch! _He cursed to himself, and opened his eyes, refusing to believe that his wonderful dream was coming to an end.

But the bed moved, and he panicked, as he finally took fullstock of the raging hard-on down below. Thankfully though, as he was ready to roll off the bed and under it in an army style ninja manuever, making a quick dash for the shower, or pretending he just wasn't there, a drowsy voice said, "You didn't have to smash it, Naruto. It only beeps eight times before turning off again."

A snort accompanied this soon, and he heard the blonde mutter from the other side of the huge ass mountain off blankets and pillows that seperated them, "Well, it should know it's just wrong to be awake this early in the morning."

Sasuke felt the bed move again and he dug into the covers until he was indistiguishable, and heard the footpads of the smaller teen circle the bed, tunneling until hed switched sides with him completely. He then hopped out awkwardly, waddle-sprinting to the bathroom. He went in a shut the door quietly, just in time to hear, "Hey, Kashi, did Sasuke already go for breakfast or something?I can't find him."

"I woke up with you, Naarto. So it stands to reason that I wouldn't really know, doesn't it?" His tired voice grumbled from what sounded like the couch.

The raven collapsed against the big wooden door of the bathroom, or tried to, but his leg brushed his still erect need, and he hissed, going over and starting the shower. He jumped right in, clothes still on, determind not to jack off to his dream.

_If I'm going to do this, It's not going to be without him._

Of that he was certain...but he still pouted afterwards. A perfectly good boner gone to waste.

_Damn._

He sighed, and blew on his now dripping hair, the water warming up. Deciding he might as well use the shower while he was here. So he stripped, water running down his happy trail below the 'V' on his lower tummy...and dripping from his chin and chisled out abs. He waited for the water to get hotter, grabbing the shampoo and squeezing out a palmful, lathering up before massaging it into his scalp. A knock came at the door, and he stopped, remembering how he'd escaped the undeniably awkward results of being discovered.

"Sasuke? You in there?"

He sweatdropped, astounded by the blonde's deductive powers. Lets see...Kakashi on the couch, couldn't by the golden, so...hmmm...what was that other guys name again? Oh yeah...

"Amazing, dobe. How did you possibly figure that one out?"

"Teme!" He could practically hear the pout. The stuck out lip quivering, arms crossed.

"Seriously. Yeah Naruto, it's me. What do you need?" He chuckled.

"I think I might've...Kakashi broke oyur alarm clock!" He finished hurriedly.

Sasuke sighed.

"Hey! Naruto!" he could hear the silver in his room, whining.

He smirked, "Is that so? Well now. I'll be right out. Sit tight Kakashi."

He heard a yelp, followed by a crash, presumably a certain man tripping over the raven's squat coffee table in his haste to stand up. The pounding of footsteps, and then a door opening and closing was heard. He chuckled more.

"Sasuke?" the voice sounded amused.

"Yes Naruto?"

"Kakashi left."

"Thank you Naruto."

* * *

After he'd finished washing, the Uchiha stepped out, and wrapped his lower half in a big fluffy black towel. He dried his legs and went out, shutting the lights off as he went by. As entered his main room, he chuckled.

Naruto was sitting in bed, blinking hard at the low volume television, as he munched resolutely on a piece of toast.

He had a mantra going in his head; _Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake._

As Sasuke came in, the bright cobalt eyes turned to him and were wary, but also cheerful. Sasuke frowned on the inside, face remaining bored.

"What's wrong dobe?"

"I..er..I'm the one who broke the clock. Sorry," he lowered his eyes sadly. Sasuke sighed, and felt the longing to look into them again open up.

"I knew that, Dobe." He went over to his wardrobe, hearing the huff behind him as he turned to open his drawers. He smirked wider, anticipating the golden's reaction.

"Teme! You tricked me," there was that pout again.

_The day I fail to do so is when you can be surprised_, he chuckled silently to himself, rolling his eyes.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto's voice was quiet now, and the raven glanced at him, eyebrows furrowing in question. He pulled on his boxers under the towel and let it drop, yanking his undershirt on. Black and grey. His favorite combo.

As he took out his white socks with grey toe tips, Sasuke turned around, watching Naruto, leaning against the chest of drawers to he could get his feet up to put them on. The blonde on the bed had abandoned his toast, and was biting his lip hesitantly.

"Hn?" his black haired head cocked, suddenly curious.

"Ehmm..." Naruto hesitated, chewing, then let all go in one, "canwegotobreakfast!"

Sasuke blinked, frowned, then nodded slowly.

"Are you sure? I'm fine with not going, personally. Always hated the cafeteria." he mused.

"Er...no. Not there," he whispered, a twinge of fear seeping into his raven blinked again, and it dawned on him. Naruto was asking to go on a date. His heart slowed, then stopped...

"Teme? Teme?" Naruto got up and was about to grab the other,when he shook himself and took a huge gulp of air.

"Hnn?" He mumbled, overviewing the panic in the blonde's eyes.

The smaller teen sighed in relief, before exploding on Sasuke, hitting his chest weakly, "Damn you, teme! You quit breathing! If you didn't want to go with me, you could've just frikin' said so!"

"Eh?" The situation was spiraling. The Uchiha snatched it and hugged Naruto suddenly, shocking him into silence. "Course I'll go! Where to?"

The golden blinked owlishly and grinned, scars stretching wide on his cheeks.

* * *

_Denny's. He wants to go to Denny's...with me!_

Sasuke didn't quite understand why it was such a big damn deal to him now. They'd gone to Denny's together before, and he'd never felt nervous. His palms were seating, for Gods sake!

Jesus, it was a breakfast cafe! It's not like Naruto was going to swoon for him over hashbrowns and pancakes!

He sighed and kept driving, glancing at the bouncing blonde in the passenger's seat. He'd been convinced to let him wear some of his clothes, and Sasuke had to admit the golden looked amazing. The black t-shirt really bought out his eyes, and the thin amount of black under them. Sasuke frowned at this.

_So he's still having bad dreams..._

Naruto had repeatedly nagged that he felt much better, that it had been nearly three weeks since his last 'episode', and that the nightmares had all but ceased. Sasuke frowned deeper, and suddenly a loud honk came, along with, "Sasuke!" He looked sharply up, and carefully swerved from the truck he'd nearly bumped into. He was practically in the other lane, and Naruto was watching him worriedly.

"Teme?"

Sasuke didn't hear him, watching the road with gritted determination and a thinking cap blocking his ears. The blonde reached over, hesitated, and ten tugged lightly on the raven's shirt hem. Dark onyx eyes glanced over, sunlight shooting from the hood to illuminate the specks of amber crimson around the edges. His pale, smooth skin was furrowed with thoughts, and his eyes asked what Naruto needed.

"Are you...okay?" he raised a brow at the taller teen, and cocked his head.

Sasuke's eyes widened fractionally.

_Cute.._

He let a smidgeon of his mouth curve up in his smile, and nodded, relaxing his face with practiced ease, as his mind kept being sad, wondering why the golden kept such a distressing secret from him.

* * *

Sasuke stared at him. He blinked. Again.

_DAMN._

As the raven did this, across the table Naruto had two full size pancakes stuffed into his mouth, strawberries, whipped cream, and all included, with syrup running down his chin. He had blueberry sauce smeared on his cheek, with a spoon full of hashbrown held in front of his face. His apple juice was nearly empty, and Sasuke signaled the waitress. She came over and joined him in staring, the jug of refill juice hanging limply. He vaguely waved at the cup, and she drizzled it in while watching the golden roughly chew and gulp down his mouthful with mild difficulty. He then looked around at his food and scooped up another flapjack from the big stack on his plate. Originally, the Uchiha ad ordered him two platters of ten, with all the the dressings. Berries, whip cream, butter, and kind of sauce. It even had chocolate chip ones. He'd gazed in fascination as the first plate disappeared in Naruto.

Now, nearing the fourth plate, with a full pile of sausage, hashbrowns, bacon, eggs, and two biscuits, Sasuke was thinking of all the money the blonde could make at a country fair. He could've supported himself through several degrees in college all by himself. He rested his chin in his hands and glanced at his own plate of waffles and bacon, half eaten. He himself usually didn't indulge in breakfasts, and easn't much of a big eater to begin with.

"Hmf-Mmfme."

He looked back up at the cobalt orbs shining at him. Naruto swallowed and licked his lips, wiping away the crumbs on his face and grinning, "Thanks!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, wavered, and then softened.

_After being able to tell the difference between his fake and true smiles for so long...and loving him...it takes my breath away when I get to be the cause of him being happy. I'm glad._

"Un," It came out as one syllable, and he nodded lightly.

* * *

Naruto smiled and thanked the waitress, who just sweat dropped and waved back uneasily, as if afraid he would open up his mouth _real_ big and gobble her up too. Four plates of pancakes and two dishes of meat and grits. Sasuke sighed, but dolled out the amount, secretly happy. Their 'one-sided-first-date' was going to continue as they went to the movies for the first time in awhile. The blonde had had to beg, because the Uchiha really didn't appreciate crowds with people he didn't know.

As they walked down the street, the boys were close together, and Sasuke was scanning the bystanders all around them. They rounded a corner and an old man watering his plants above them on the third story of some apartment shouted out a few curses. Naruto looked away, but felt an arm circle around his own. He looked up.

Sasuke wasn't looking at him, but at a woman across the street carrying her child away. He was staring daggers at her, and Naruto smiled softly, tightening the hold he now had on the raven. Sasuke smirked, and glanced at him, gaze gentling considerably.

"Hn."

The blonde smiled softly, and replied playfully, "Hn-n!"

Snorting, the other shook his his, letting his smirk show. He glanced around again, and emanated death at one of thier 'classmates'(which you couldn't really say since they'd been doing thier work from 'home' all this time.) who had just walked out of a sshop and had a disgusted look on her face. At the death beams reached her, her skin broke out in a cold sweat, and her eyes moved from Naruto to his companion. She shuddered and looked away, seething. Sasuke growled, and the girl walked away stiff-necked.

They rounded another corner, and nearly bumped into a woman and her husband. They were halfway through the apology and stopped, glaring furiously at the blonde. Sasuke hissed and shoved past them, almost knocking them flat. Naruto's grip was slowly tightening, to where it was close to painful, but the raven said nothing. His own arm tightened too, and he walked faster. Naruto glanced up at him, and nodded, both of them now running together towards the theater. As they neared, Sasuke slammed four glaring men into the street and nearly crushed a woman's windpipe, who'd been winding up to hit _his_ blonde.

They finally stopped, panting.

"Thanks for...standing..up for...me, Sasuke. Best...damn...friend in...the world."

He sweatdropped. Now if only the idiot knew he was his...

* * *

Naruto glanced up at the raven, blue eyes shining remarkably in the dim cinema lights. His stomach hadn't flip-flopped in awhile now. Nearly since the first time. It'd been almost two months since _that_ night, and his emotions had pretty much stabilized. As the movie played, he eventually wound up with his head buried against Sasuke's arm, laughing. His hand was looped around the raven's arm, and he squeezed it happily, giggling. Sasuke watched him in wonderment. He didn't know a human body could feel this warm and fuzzy inside. It wasn't logical. It wasn't safe, it seemed. It was crazy and wild and uncontrollable.

But then...isn't it always?

* * *

**Hey dudes and dudettes. Hope you liked it:) I wish I could type more right now, but I have a new idea, and there needs to be a time leap. I wanted Sasuke's protective side to show and there to be a bit of mild fluff before then though.**

**So. Next chapter is gonna be long and good...I hope. Look forward to it, my peeps!**

**Love you guys!**

**Review Revolution!**


	13. Unicorns for Dinner

******Self ranting~Shiiiittt. *Smashes head against wall***

***Chuckles darkly and insanely, blood running down from the wound on her forehead***

******I hate whoever invented writers block. I swear, one day, some prick decided to fuck with our heads and made it up. Groawr!**

******...*sigh frustratedly*...anyways.~End self ranting, looking up at readers through tired eyes. Tries to smile.**

***curses as blood gets in her eye. She blinks furiously and runs into the wall***

******So, I'm sorry for the delay guys. As you might be able to tell, though, I am writer's block's bitch at the moment and am getting throughly bitch-slapped by it. Dammit.**

******Anywoot, glad you guys are still with me!*Grins and gives you a thumbs up***

***~eyes are closed, and she grins at the wall, giving it a thumbs up~***

_Naru: *whispers to Sasu* What on earth is she doing?_

_Sasu: *to Naru* Her eyes have been closed since blood got in her eyes. She thinks it them._

_Naru: Shouldn't we...?_

_Sasu: Nah. More fun this way. *Chuckles evilly*_

_Naru: *sweat drop*_

**Warning: Fluff, drinking, angst, and humor.**

**Enjoy!**

'Soulmate' by Natasha Bedingfield. Both lyrics and song, but you gotta think about it^^

* * *

As they entered the loud resturant and bar, Naruto fretted, glancing around nervously. He looked up at the man by his side, whispering, "Are you sure it's alright for us to be here? We're underage."

The other waved him away, and watched the nineteen year old seated at the counter. He walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. Sasuke turned, glaring, but dropped it immediately. He smiled softly at the smaller teen and glanced at Kakashi, raising a thin charcoal brow. The silver nodded, smirking. The raven returned it slyly. Naruto was relaxing now that his friend was here, and smiled, still a little uneasy.

He could smell that stale beer and the old fry grease everywhere, mingled with floral spray, and his nose wrinkled. Sasuke smiled sympathetically, knowing it took time to get used to the bar's scents.

The bartender exchanged a few quiet, discreet words with the silver, and looked at Naruto, angrily. Sasuke flicked his gaze over to him, eyes clearly communicating something deep and meaningful.

**You pull something, and I'll beat you so hard the morgue will give up on identifying you.**

The man's eyes widened and he nodded quickly, turning back to Kakashi, who was giving him pretty much the same message, albeit a little more subtly.

Narutolooked up just in time to catch the end glance between the teacher and his best friend. His golden eyebrows raised, but the raven began to lead him towards the back. Walking beside him, having released the others arm to do so, Naruto wondered what was behind the low wall that blocked the table from view. Sasuke smiled secretly and kept going.

As they rounded the corner, the blonde grinned, both relieved and happy. Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sakura were sitting at the table. Kiba and the pinkette were arguing about something and Gaara was glancing at the brunette beside him often. Neji, for his own part, was obviously trying not to do the same, keeping a trained stare on the condensation trailing it's way down the side of his cup.

"I swear to God, Kiba! Don't lick me!"

Kiba grinned and stuck his tongue.

"Hi guys!" Naruto laughed. Sakura stopped mid swing and whirled in her seat, nearly smacking her still curled fist into Kakashi's stomach. He man-squealed and leaped back. Naruto chuckled and Sasuke hid a smile. He scowled at all three of them.

As the group at the table made room, Neji was forced to scoot closer to the redhead beside him, and their feet brushed each others, making them both lightly blush. It was a slight smattering of red flecks, but looked so out of place against their pale skin that Sakura and Kakashi couldn't help but notice. Sasuke just glanced at them knowingly.

"Hey Sasuke?" The raven looked down at the huge blue eyes right beneath his head.

"Hn? What is it dobe?"

A flash of irritation was dismissed and Naruto cocked his head, whispering, "What is this about?"

A small hope was niggling at the back of his mind.

Sakura heard him and slammed her palm on the table, grinning like a fool, "Why Naruto! It's just a get-together of pals! A happy event where everyone can talk about _happy_ things...like rainbows and butterflies. And unicorns."

"Yeah! Go unicorns!" Everyone turned to look at Kiba. He pumped his fists in the air.

"Retard," Sakura mumbled, scooting further away like she might catch his Stupid Disease.

"Hn," Neji and Gaara said as one, glancing to the other and looking away again.

Kakashi smirked, as the blonde beside him just sighed and rubbed her temple.

Sweat dropping, Sasuke looked away, and muttered, "...Anyways...yeah. Happy." Naruto giggled.

Kakashi stifled a chuckle.

"Yeah...just a gathering of friends. Why?" Sasuke asked after a moment.

The small hope died, and Naruto smiled to hide it. Sasuke frowned but said nothing, seeing it. He sighed, waving to a waitress, who reluctantly came over, practically dragging her heeled feet ten step behind her. She plastered on a smile and looked at Sakura, asking with a strained voice, "Yes Ma'am? What may I get for you?"

Sasuke scowled and cleared his throat, saying rather loudly, "_I'll _have the roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. A side-order of peas. Iced tea. Lemon. Unsweetened." The girl nodded, writing it down, and turned away slowly, but Sasuke grabbed her apron.

She stiffened.

"Excuse you. _This_ direction."

She turned and glared at him, then glanced at the blonde beside him who hadn't realized what was going on, talking animatedly to Neji. The pale boy pointed to the waitress, and nodded in her direction. The smaller teen halted mid sentence and cocked his head, turning to look at her. He blinked, then smiled sweetly.

"Hello."

Her eyes hardened, but Naruto seemed to be oblivious, "Can I please have the grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup and a baked potato?" His big blue eyes twinkled marvolously.

She nodded, but didn't write anything down.

Sasuke growled.

"Did you get all that?" His voice really translated as, 'Fucking-write-his-order-down,-you-bitch-faced-hag!'

She glared at him harder and practically carved the order into her tablet, turning, stiffnecked, to Neji, who also stared holes into her. He ordered some tacos and salad, then began to listen attentively (on the inside) to the blonde again, nodding occasionally.

Once she was done with the table, she immediately turned and stalked off to the kitchen, slamming the paper down for the cook to read and storming off to wash her hands. She even shouted to the manager where she was headed. Loudly. Sasuke glowered at her, wishing Satan could come from his eyes and eat her. He really regretted not having that ability. Truly he did.

_Damn_.

Mourning his chance lost, and cursing fate for his devil-less eyes -though that would be argued by some of his victims- the raven turned back to the group. Sakura looked like she was mourning for the same reason, and was still glaring at the direction the girl had gone in. He smirked, nodding at her when she met his eyes, her own fierce with fury.

Her mind zaps with his in an epic moment!

_"Want to go after her? We don't need Satan!" She gives him a thumbs up._

_Considering, Sasuke reluctantly shakes his head, "Nah. We can't Naruto would get upset. Besides, I want the food."_

_She sighs, and nods sadly, giving it up._

Mind zappage over.~

* * *

As the cook calls something out, the barkeep calls back and shouts to our table.

"Hey. Food's ready. Misa left already. Come get it."

Sasuke got up moodily and went over to the kitchen, ignoring the yells from the manager and going insdie. Loud crashes came from inside, and Naruto and the other's watched with interest. A few moments later, he dragged a furious Misa-the waitress-from the doors, and placed her in front of the food sitting on the counter.

Leaning in to mutter something, whatever he said made her pale and her eyes bulge. She hastily nodded and he smirked thinly, pointing at thier table, holding up his five left fingers, and saying something more. He then turned and walked back. In several minutes, the girl walked over, arms full of food, and set down the dishes on the surface of thier table. She then bowed and apologized for the lie nervously, backing up before running back into the kitchen.

* * *

"So. Didn't you say somthing about Unicorns?" Kiba asked suddenly, a string of cheese from his nachos hanging from his lips. He grinned at the awkward silence.

"Aren't they great? I love their horns! Also, they're so white and sparkly!" His wrist totally flipped. Sasuke looked over and stared at him.

Sakura nearly choked up her soda through her nose, and Neji had face-palmed. Gaara just stared at him like he'd grown a third foot on his head, and Tsunade applauded him, too drunk on _sake_ to care that one of her students had just said the gayest thing ever heard by the ears of mankind. Kakashi just snorted and chuckled, taking another bite of his sushi. (I lied. It was fried catfish. Close enough.)

"Kiba."

"Also, I love it when they whinny all like 'Nehehehehehe!'"

Sasuke sunk lower in the booth, pulling Naruto down too, in a 'we-don't-know-him' way. He sighed, and thought about asking for the check right now.

"Kiba."

"I mean, how could you not love them? Unicorns are fuckin' awsome!"

"Kiba!"

"They have such beautiful manes and they always look so cool when they run around!"

"KIBA!"

The Inuzuka finally looked up. Sakura was staring at him, drink prepared should she fail to recieve his ultimate attention. The straw was still in it, probably meant for his eyes or something.

"Hn, Sakura? Don't you love them too?" He grinned widely at her, and got splashed in the face.

Sputtering, he looked up at her, scandalized.

"The fuck, Haruno?" he was getting mad now, and she swelled up to her full size to discourage these rebellious thoughts of his. He quieted, and she sighed.

"You're annoying."

He blinked, "Oh."

Like it was the most normal thing in the world to pour soda all over an annoying person.

Everyone burst out laughing.

* * *

Sasuke POV

As we walked around town, Kiba was still pestering Sakura and Naruto was giggling and dancing around happily. I allowed myself to crack a smile at that. I wished I could always have him smile like that. It was so full of...Naruto-ness.

Shut up.

He suddenly looked at me and grinned. I just barely stopped the blush from heating up my neck and face, limiting it to me ears. I loved it when he looked at me like that. It sent warmth and fuzziness to places I thought would be cold and stone-hard forever. Prancing-yes, he prances...it's a manly prance-over to me, he grabbed my arm, swinging me around. I grunted and mock-scowled.

"Dobe!"

I grabbed him and began to tickle, loving the wonderfully bright, sunshiny laugh it made him make.

_Days like this are great._

That's what I thought as the people around us chuckled. Sakura came over and smacked us both upside the head, reprimanding us for acting so insane next to her. Tsunade had stopped awhile ago and struck up a conversation with a bush, whispering to the squirrel in the tree beside it from time to time. Kakashi was sitting on a bench a little ways off, reading his book.

Gaara had stuck close to the stoic Hyuuga, and Neji didn't seem to mind in the least. But he wouldn't, would he? I guess gay guys really do have one hellova Gay-dar, because whenever I saw them now, a little perv voice in my mind always squeals.

So, as the sun was going down, I said good-bye to everyone, making eye-contact with the pinkette. She pulled Kiba away and waved to Neji and Gaara. The two of them looked over to us, smirking.

Yes, so what. They'd guessed. Hmpf. Prooves my theory on gay-dars, so whatever.

I rolled my dark eyes and began to glare at them, making both chuckle and turn away. Naruto looked at this silent exchange in confusion. He shrugged. I did too, looking down at him, smiling.

He grinned and we began to walk off, my hands in my pockets and his spread open wide, as he wandered zig-zag in front of me. I fingered the carnival tickets in my pocket and grinned secretly, walking faster towards the turn-off to the open beach downtown. Naruto kept up, ad we talked about random things.

"Hey Teme?"

"Hn?"

"Where do you think muffins came from?"

"Why do you think I would know that?"

"I dunno. I just wonder, is all."

I sighed dramatically, but slyly smiled, happy to be spending time together like this.

"Maybe a biscuit blew up by accident and they said it was muffed up."

"Muffed up?"

"Then they decided to re-create it and called it the Muff-in."

Silence. I looked over, and see a serious look on my dobe's face, as he bites his lip.

_Oh dear lord in heaven, he thinks I mean it._

I started to laugh, and couldn't help increasing my volume steadily, as he turned to look at me incredulously. I finally stopped, and shook my shaggy black hair, sighing contentedly.

Still staring at me, Naruto shrugged and kept going, twirling around in a circle, as he wonders aloud, "I wish I knew for sure."

"Baka," I whispered, to conceal to look of uninhibited love on my face.

* * *

We were walking down the road still, and I finally found the sign pointing the way to the beach carnival. It happened three times year and was often rained out. But today was guaranteed to be a good weather day, and had been. I asked him to close his eyes, and picked him up bridal style so he wouldn't walk into anything like the dobe he could be. He pouted as I voice my concerns, and gave in.

_I get to hold him._

As I carried him there, he began to comment.

"I smell popcorn. Oh, and hotdogs!"

"You just ate, dobe. It must be your imagination," I covered.

"What's all that noise?" I could also hear hear the carnival noises in the background, the squeals of children and laughter.

"I smell saltwater. Are we going to the beach?"

"No, Naruto. Only past it," I smirked. He looked adorable when he pouted.

"Aw! Can't we stop there for awhile? Please?" he wheedled, and I sighed, pretending to finally give in, a grin breaking over my face.

"Fine. But only for a bit."

"Thanks teme! Best friend ever!"

My heart sinks, but I yank it back up and keep it afloat, making myself focus on the small blonde teen in my arms. He has red, flushed cheeks, and he's curled up into my chest, grinning in anticipation.

I want so badly to kiss him. But I can't.

Not yet...

* * *

**Okay. So what do you guys think today is for them? What is special?**

**I know this Is a mini cliffhanger, but I want the next one to be special. Besides, I think this one should be by itself. And you can't do anything about it! Mwahahahahahaha!**

**Don't hurt me...**

**Review!**


	14. My Little Dobe

'Speak of the Devil' by Sum 41

* * *

Sasuke POV

As we stepped onto the beach, I let him down, but prevented him from opening his eyes, begging him-in my own way-not to.

"Aw, fine! Teme," he murmured. I smiled, knowing he wouldn't peek, and lead him cautiously down the sand towards the glowing ferris wheel in the distance. The sounds of the fair were getting louder, and the liittle teen began to get suspicious.

"What's that noise, Sasuke?"

I smirked, "A family's having a barbeque, looks like. We'll go around them."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to a cool place I know of."

He seems to accept that. We walk closer and closer, and finally, we arrive at the carnival's front gate, bright, shining rides and lights everywhere in front of us. I reach over and take him by the shoulder, pulling him closer to me. Then I lean in and put my head on the shoulder, chuckling.

"Open."

I assume he did, because I hear a huge gasp.

He whirls around, tears in his eyes, with a gigantic grin on his face.

I hold up our tickets, smiling.

"Happy Brithday, dobe."

His eyes widen more, if possible, and he rushes me, squeezing me into his tan arms, curling up to my body. I blush faintly, glad that the multi-colored lights hide it, and hug him back.

"Thank you so much, teme! You really did remember!"

I laugh, "Of course I did dobe."

He squeals-it's totaly cute-and twirls-also cute-into the crowded path of the fair.

Leaping after him, I quickly pass the tickets to the vendor and hurry to catch up, grabbing him afround the waist and pulling him to a stop.

He furrows his brows in question, huge eyes gleaming. I sigh and dig out my wallet, passing a twenty to him. He rasies the brows, and I smirk.

"Did you think they'd let you eat, drink, and play for free, dobe?" I chuckle and roll my eyes playfully.

He takes the money, blushing.

"Thanks teme." it's a whisper.

I look down at him and my eyes widen. He's staring at the ground, and is biting his lip. I sigh, smile, and reach over, hugging him gently. His fists curl into my jacket.

"Come on. Let's go have some fun, dobe."

* * *

Is it really nessessary to lean out when one is at the top of a ferris wheel?

I don't think I saw that in the rule book. Did someone forget to give me an updated copy, or what the fuck?

My heart is racing and I'm staring up with solemn eyes, panicking inside, as my little idiot holds onto the rails in front of his body, his torso leaning forward into empty space. I think I'm having a heart attack!

My insides are jumbled and my stomach dropped to my toes a few seconds ago when the ride rocked and his basket bounced around. I think the ferris wheel is to test the people watching, not the ones riding. My soda was dripping onto the dusty path that wound through the fair, and the styrofoam cup was crushed in my hand, popcorn bag nearly ripped open by my nails on the other hand. I'd been having a rough time since Naruto went up in the gigantic wheel.

I'm leaning against the wall and dry heaving, as his cart comes down, a mantra going through my head: _Get it together, get it together, get it together, get it together..._

As the huge wheel stops and he leaps out, I force my mask back on and toss the empty cup and crushed bag away, hitting a fat lady in the head behind me. Unbeknown to myself, she turns and gets up, stalking over to me. Naruto is running to me, and I feel a heavy tap on my shoulder. I glare at the person through my awesome Uchiha powers and the tap comes again. Naruto has reached me now, and is staring at something behind me. I finally give an angry growl and turn.

My eyes went so wide, I'm surprised they didn't pop out and roll across the ground and scare the ants.

I truly am.

She was almost eight times my size, and was scowling down at me, popcorn sticking all over her huge body. Soda drizzled down her floral print dress, which had so many jelly rolls she could've run her own bakery. Her short brown hair was stringy and ugly, and I swear to god she had a lazy eye. She was also glaring at a little girl across the crowded street at the same time as she glared at me. Or maybe she had something against little girls. I don't know.

I might've philosophized a bit more about this, had I not had to duck immediately to avoid the right hook she tossed at me. Okay, I'm usually not scared of things like this, but I nearly dropped flat to the ground on my face to avoid this particular hook. I dragged Naruto with me, and quickly scuttled away.

Her fingers, however fat, had somehow all been outfitted with large, probably fake, jeweled rings. It was amazing, the detail I saw in the few short moments before I ducked away. Spikes. There were spikes on the tips of all four rings.

Who wears spiked rings to a fair? I mean, a beautiful dame, I could see, but there was no way even a blind man would try to harass this woman. Honestly. Anyways, back to the insane amount of hurt I would've experienced had I not ducked, Naruto tugged me away from another hit, and we got up, feet skidding, to sprint away from the enraged lady. Or...the _very_ large flower carnival mirror. As we stumbled around the corner, I smirked, and reached out, grabbing something from a prize vendor. If we were leaving, might as we'll get something for our troubles.

By the time we'd reached the actual beach beyond all the noise, we fell on the sand, side-by-side, and could'nt stop laughing.

"Sasuke-" he gasped, "Haha! Did you see her _face_?"

I clutched my sides, tears streaming, "Hehe! Yeah! Did you see the way those viens were popping out on her head?"

We stayed like that for a good while, and when the last giggles and chuckles died down, we were still laying there, stretched out on the dark grains of sand, waves lapping gently at the footprints of the day a little ways off, their echoes reaching our ears. I sighed and rubbed the gift I'd stolen for him. I watched the stars, glittering and gleaming overhead. The bright carnival lights didn't obstruct out view, and Naruto repeated my breath. I glanced in the direction I knew him to be in. My hand ached to hold his, but I resisted.

Sadly, I closed my eyes and bit my lip.

"Sasuke?"

I peeked again, and saw a brilliant pair of sky blue eyes contrasting with the sparkling velvet above, shining a light that was all thier own. I barely had the time to hold back a gasp. They blinked, and the mop of sunshine hair directly over them shifted as Naruto cocked his head cutely at me and asked again, "Sasuke?"

I managed to whisper, "Yes?"

"What was today about?"

I smirked and shook my head, squeezing the item again before holding it up for him, the moonlight illuminating it for the first time. The gorgeous eyes over me widened and a smile began to form, only to give way to hesitation and confusing, caution outlining both. He swallowed and remained silent.

I sat up, my eyes never leaving his, and stopped when I was about a foot from his face, a light blush coming to my cheeks, the night hiding it. I grabbed hs hand and put the fox plushie in it, smiling softly and murmuring to him.

"Happy Birthday, dobe."

His face lit up and his fist curled around the little doll.

Suddenly, I was knocked flat into the sand, a warm body pressed into mine. I grunted, as it took my air from me.

"Dobe?"

He was silent, arms firmly wrapped around my middle and his head in my neck.

"Naruto?"

I felt warm splashes on my skin, as his tears soaked through my shirt. I sighed and put my hand on his back, rubbing circles with my thumb.

"Thank you so much, teme."

I didn't say anything, only smiling and holding him tighter.

* * *

As we laid there for hours, a few couples went by and I simply enjoyed holding him. I knew he probably knew nothing of my feelings, and I also knew that I was most likely only an extremely close friend to him. But to me...this was more than I could've hoped for. I could breathe him in and keep him close. It was his birthday...but this was a gift to me.

When the horizon had already bid the moon and stars goodbye and it was tinged pink with the sunrise, I sighed, blinking my somehow light lids and sitting up, taking the little blonde in my arms and standing as I picked him up and began to walk back down the long expanse of sand, heading back to our dorm.

We got there a little over two hours later, because I refused to wake him up or rush. The sun was slowly rising, and I sighed as I opened the college front door awkwardly, easily carrying his thin, tanned body up the flights of stairs and over to my room. I kicked on it softly with my foot and waited a few moments before slamming the sole of my heel into it, the huge bang amazingly not waking Naruto up. A couple seconds later, a disgruntled silver slammed it open, a baseball bat in his grip. I grumbled and shoved past him, taking the little blonde over to our bed. Kakashi mumbled something and shut the door.

Naruto woke up, peeping through his golden lashes up at me.

"S'ske?"

I smirked and handed him the small plushie I'd kept in my back pocket. His half-awake eyes widened slightly and he managed to grin and cuddle up to the little toy, patting the space beside him. I smiled gently, and murmured, "I'll be there in a moment. I've still got sand in my hair."

Before he could say anything, "I already got almost all of the sand from yours on the way back." He accepted this silently, looking up at me with half-mast eyes and yawning cutely.

Sighing, I went over to the alarm clock-I'd gotten a new one-and turned it off. Then I walked to the bathroom, holding my head close to the toilet and brushing a small mound of grains from my shaggy mane of raven hair. Done, checking for more, I washed my hands and turned off the lights as I went back into the bedroom. As I came in, I saw Kakashi looking at me strangely.

"What is it?" I finally asked. He just smiled and shook his head, shifting so his back was to me. I shrugged, going over to the bed again. Naruto was trying desperately not to fall asleep, and looked up at me, eyes barely open and smiled softly. He was too cute. I reached over and stroked his ruffled spikes, turned off the last light, and then went over to my side of the bed, getting in. I threw blankets over both of us and closed my eyes.

I nearly gasped but didn't, when I felt his warm little body curling up into my chest. Opening my eyes, I could just barely make out his frame, and smiled, putting my own arms gently around him and tugging him closer. He didn't say anything, probably already asleep. I tucked his golden head under my chin and sighed.

After a few hours of holding him like this, my eyelids were threatening to drop, and I sighed again, closing them.

As I finally drifted off to sleep, I had a thought of bravery. Leaning closer to the little teen in my arms, I kissed his head and buried my face in his hair, murmuring to the sleeping blonde, "I love you."

* * *

**So? How was it? I know I said I was catching up to HL&S, but I was already almost done with this one, so I figured...oh, who am I kidding? *Sobs***

**I'm weak! I couldn't do it~**

**Review.**


	15. Sacrificial Gummy Worms

**Sasu- Lawlie-sama is away at the moment due to a current fear for her life, and has sent me to do the intro.**

**Naru- Teme! Not only you!**

**Sasu- *holds up a cardboard sign 'mainly me'* Okay fine, baka. You too *shakes head at readers secretly***

**Gaara comes into room~**

**Gaara- You know guys, she didn't send either one of you to do it. It was me and Neji.**

**Neji enters~**

**Neji- Yeah. She told Shika to come too...but...it's a nice day out.**

**Gaara- *nods and glances at the chocolate haired boy* Right. Anyways, Lawlie~addresses readers~told us to tell you to not worry about her, because Spider-man has made a full recovery and Kiba and Sparkle are still with her, wherever she is.**

**Neji- So back to the story.**

**Sasu/Naru-and review!**

'You Belong With Me' by Taylor Swift

* * *

As I woke up, I could still feel the smaller teen pressing impossibly close to me. I sighed and nuzzled his hair, wishing I could hold him forever.

"Sasuke?" I stiffened and drew back enough to see bright, gorgeous blue eyes looking curiously up at me. I smirked and murmured, "Hn?"

He blinked, eyes gettingalittle wider. Then, apparently deciding something, he just shook his his slowly and whispered, "Hm. Never mind." With that, he closed his eyes, snuggling up to me once again. Now it was my turn to have my eyes widen. Then, softening, I rested my chin on his head, smirking.

"Dobe," I chuckled teasingly, "You're silly."

He sniffed, and reached up to tweak my nose. I playfully bit his hand and he yelped, burrowing deeper into my chest. Surely he could feel my heartbeat speed unnaturally higher. I sighed, and resolved myself, pulling away gently, muttering, "We need to get a bath, baka. I can feel sand under us." He giggled-it was a manly giggle-and nodded, hopping up.

_Well damn. I already miss him and he's isn't even three feet from me._

For the first time, I wondered what would happen when Tsunade dubbed him fully healed. A deep pit of sorrow opened up in my stomach, realizing that my little blonde would probably move back out at that time. It was a hurting thought, but most likely true as well.

"Naruto?" He turned, a huge grin plastered on his face.

I hesitated.

_I can't ruin his moments of happiness._

I was ready to shake my head and put it off, when suddenly, he jumped me, throwing me back into the bed, and sat on my stomach, glaring down at me seriously. I stared at him, stunned. I then moved so my head was sideways, and he couldn't see the nearly purple blush that was flaming across my face.

"Dobe-"

"First. I'm not 'dobe', teme," he said with his usual pout," and second..."

He apparently lost nerve and climbed off, cheeks dusted pink, before whispering, "Can I...stay here?"

I blinked.

"Dobe?" I said, half to taunt, and half to ask.

He just glanced at me, azure eyes big and round, like melted sapphires. I held back a gasp, just barely reclaiming my expression.

"Are you psychic?"

He just stared, as a big smile overtook my face, me being unable to halt it anymore. I couldn't believe it. He was seriously asking _me?_

I feel like giggling, but would've rather sawed off my own foot than actually emit such a mortifying sound, so instead, I chuckled. Loudly and deeply. I saw him blush and look away, muttering, "Bastard." I could hear his grin.

"ACH!" I sneezed violently, and rolled off my side of the bed, to get smooshed up against the wall.

Predictably, the blonde behind me cracked up, clutchinghis sides and cackling at my misfortune.

"Thuth up, thobe," I growled, nursing both my jaw and bleeding tongue.

But as I looked up, I couldn';t help but smile at him secretly, happy that he was happy. I decided to indulge in a little insanity. So, as I crawled on all fours around to the other side of my bed, I sighed, and went over to the fridge-still on all fours-and opened it up, ignoring the resulting snickers. Grabbing a bottle of water, I sat down Indian-style and watched him laugh.

_I wish…_

"Sasuke?" He muttered, and I realized I was staring. Sighing and gulping down some of the water, I shook my head and turned away, dismissing my thoughts as impossible. They were, after all, right?

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt, but…our _honorable _principal has decided something," Kakashi announced, and stirred. I started, having not realized he'd woken up.

Recovering first, Naruto asked cautiously, "Oh? That so?"

The silver cleared his throat uncomfortably, and nodded, sitting up to stretch.

Waiting, for forever-it seemed to me-I quickly grew impatient with my English teacher beating around the bush of hesitation as he swings the gay 'satchel'-man~purse-of happiness. I growled and tapped my fingers along my arm, pfft-ing to nobody imparticular.

"She's..." he eyed me, and suddenly got up, going into the bathroom. I grumbled, and followed, peeved when he shut and locked the door in my face. _My bathroom._ He shut my bathroom door on _me. _Hehe. Yeah...no. I was about to totally go insane on his ass and beat down myown goddamn door, which would've made me a little sad, but Naruto suddenly tsk-ed from beside me and I turned, foot raised and brow cocked.

He did it again and said to the door, "Kashi, Are you really that afriad of Sasuke-teme? He won't hurt you, right Sasuke?"

He turns to me, with-I swear to god-the biggest, cutest, most beguiling puppy-dog look I have ever seen on another human being-or puppy, for that matter-in my entire life. And I've seen some doozies.

I sighed and lowered my foot, "I can't make any promises. You know that, dobe." But seeing the look, I did cave a little, "But I will try. Better?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

But Kakashi did not come out, instead calling to us, "I'd still prefer to stay behind at least a bit of a barrier, if you don't mind." I heard him mumble domething along the lines of, "Kill me" too, so I was understandably wary of this 'decision' Tsunade had apparently made.

We waited for a moment, before I heard a whisper of a noise.

"Eh?" Naruto, loud as ever, called, pressing his ear to the wood. Kakashi raised his voice, answering, "She's decided to give you both a trial period...and send you back to classes."

I stiffened, and glanced at the little blonde beside me, eyes wide. He was frozen in place, pulled back from the door, soft azure eyes disbelieving.

"Kakashi," I growled warningly, but I heard him sigh and felt the door move against my fingertips as he leaned agianst it, "Sorry guys. I already pushed the date back as far as I could. You were actually supposed to start a week ago, but I convinced her to postpone it. She won't be pushed anymore. Your first day back is the day after tomorrow. I..."

"No way..." I looked back at the still stiff teen next to me, and spun him around so he was facing me, startled blue eyes meeting my own onyx ones.

"Naruto...we'll think of something...somehow we'll..." I stopped as he rushed forward and hugged me desperately.

_I'll kill her for this,_ I thought sadly and furiously, as his chest heaved against mine, and he tried to hide his tears from me.

I could still feel him crying. Silently, strongly, but still.

* * *

When the day was over, we'd discovered the only news worth discovering. She'd put me in all of Naruto's classes, even art, and given notes to all the teachers, telling them not to call any extra attention to us when we came back. Also, we'd found that Tsunade herself...was nowhere to be found. She apparently left early the day before, left instructions, and gone of on a business trip for a month.

Oddly enough (sarcasm) that was the trial period's length. She had left here number with Kakashi, since her cell was still in her office.

DAMN THAT WOMAN!

In the mean time, I'd gathered our work and officially given it to the substitute teacher in Kakashi's classroom, narrowly avoiding getting trapped by a wandering group of fangirls who were visiting the other fangirls, apparently consoling themand giving heartening speeches. Frikin' weirdos.

It's enough to turn anyone gay.

_(Sasuke S/N: Not that I am gay. You know what, never mind. We're not going to talk about my sexual orientation. I could be a lesbian, but is still wouldn't be or any concern to you guys, now would it? No.)_

Apart from that, things went on as normal for the next two days. Naruto began to laugh and play, albeit with a nervous and anxious tension laying just under the surface of the water. I was addicted to him, and I wanted only to see him smile. Yes, I know it's corny...still. It _is_ true.

So I took him out. Granted, Neji and Gaara went with us, Kiba beingbusy with...something, and Sakura busy 'training' somewhere with Shizune. Presumably she was goingto try and be a nurse one day, but she hadn't said anything to us about it.

As we were driving around looking for a place to go, Naruto hugged his little fox plushie close and I smiled sideways at him, enjoying his presence.

In the back seat, it could cut the anxiety with a spork. A dull spork. Or a spoon. I kept nervously glancing back there. From the atmosphere, they were either going to go for each other's throats, or they were going to start making out. Neither were very productive for the evening.

Well damn. I should've just taken Kakashi with us. At least there's nobody for him to go for, and he knows what the consequences would be if he ever_ touched_my blonde. _(Sasuke looks at the readers from behind his bangs, face shadowed, one eye gleaming out from underneath, glowing red. He chuckles, then looks away. The readers sweatdrop.)_

I eventually gave up and announced we had to get gas, even though the tank was nearly over the brim full. I pulled in a pretended to swipe my card, giving Naruto a twenty and telling him to go and buy snacks for the drive. (We were going out to the amusement park that had opened in the next town over)

He skipped...okay. Nothing I can say. He skipped over to the door and waltzed in. After getting out and opening Neji's door, I pointed to Gaara and growled, "Stay boy." He scowled, watching as I yanked the Hyuuga out and shut the door again.

"What the hell Uch-"

"What are you two doing, eh?" He glared at him, crossing my arms uncharacteristically. (hint hint)

He stiffened, but regained his composure quickly, shrugging and looking away, "I'm not sure what you mean, Sasuke."

I'd had enough of this. I don't care how _Un-Uchiha_it was of me. I pfft-ed at him and rolled my eyes stupidly.

"Puhleeze. You're making googly-eyes at each other in my back seat. Sorry if I don't feel like trying to ignore it. I mean, hey at least I-" I cut off, choking on my tongue as I realized I'd almost actually _SAID THAT._

~Neji gave me the strangest look I do believe I have ever recieved. And I was once caught yelling at a fish who ate the dime I'd dropped into it's bowl. In my defence, I'd been competely speechless for about ten minutes, just staring at that goldfish. I didn't know fish were able to eat coins.

Seriously though. This look was bordering on 'oh-my-god-run-away-there's-a-four-headed-killer-goose-coming-from-his-mouth!' Not that I would know.

Because I don't, in case you were wondering there for a moment. But I assume it would be similar to the 'oh-my-god-run-away-there's-a_-three-_headed-killer-goose-coming-from-his-mouth!' look.

Just saying. God, I don't think I've ever rambled so badly in my life. How did we even get on this subject? Anyways, that randomness out of the picture...~

"At least you cover yours up better," he finished, staring me straight in the face, (this was after he'd finished giving me The Look.) and sighing afterwards, glancing back at the store and then the curious redhead in the car. Gaara looked concerned, but trying not to show it. I sighed too and rubbed my face.

"Hn," I said, struck with the brilliancy of the word. That was sarcasm. Again, in case you wondered.

He smirked and shook his head, "I can't I just think about him every minute of every day. And...with us..." He averted his eyes, the unsaid words striking me down inside.

"With you two, there's nothing scarring to hold you back...like there is with us..." I nodded, admitting it to myself even though it did hurt. A lot.

He wouldn't look at me, apparently ashamed..as ashamed as a Hyuuga _could_look without coming off as a normal human being, anyways. We just stood there until my little dobe came back, babbling about sour gummy worms and funyuns. He paused, sensing something, but between the two of us, he soon gave up deciphering anything from our unnaturally stoic faces, shrugging and going back to his babbling, although a little quieter, as he got back in the car.

Soon Neji sighed loudly and murmured, "I'll try to be more subtle, if you'll promise me something."

I was wary, I admit. Even the strongest of minds can be swayed by evil...

"Promise you'll tell him soon..."

I glared, "I knew it. Sakura got to you, didn't she? Or that old pervert? Which one was it? I'm gonna kick somebody's ass!" I growled and waited.

Neji flushed a little, "I...urm...not in so many words."

I glared harder, surprised to see him stutter and blush.

Realization dawning on me, I almost gasped, turning to glare at the redhead in the back seat.

"Gaaraaaa," I stared, and slowly the teen backed up into the shadows, sensing danger. Neji quickly intervened and pushed me towards the driver's door.

"Go. We'll both try. Done?"

"Hn," I was still peeved, but got back in, and couldn't help but smile when Naruto looked up, startled, with half a gummy worm hanging from his mouth, another in his hand. isnatched it and bit down, laughing at the protests. Driving back to the road, I thought about what Neji had said.

_Maybe...maybe I will tell him..._

* * *

**Okay.**

**~Lawlie has set up a video line~**

**~She is apparently running from something, and you can hear mad cackling in the background. Lawlie glances behind her and yells something unintelligible, before turning back to the readers~**

**Lawlie- Hey*pant* everyone! How*pant* are you guys? Did you*pant*like the chapter?**

**~Sasuke can be seen running beside her now, and the readers can faintly hear Gaara and Naruto. One of Neji's hands appear to take the camera, showing Sparkle and Kiba in the back beside Sasuke.~**

**Neji- How on earth*pant* did she even find us? *pant***

**Sasuke- I dunno,*pant, but I'm starting*pant* to wonder if*pant*someone is helping her.**

**Naruto- *pants heavily and stumbles, getting up quickly* I think so too! She finds us*pant*way too fast to be*pant*natural.**

**Neji- Hey, you guys watching this! REVIEW for all our sakes. If you don't REVIEW, we might not make it!**

**Gaara- *looks around* Hey guys? Where did Sakura go?**

**Lawlie/Naruto/Kiba/- WHAT? *they look around, grounding to a halt. Suddenly they realize that the mad cackling has stopped since awhile ago. They all look wildly around, chests heaving.***

**Sasuke/Gaara/Neji- Fuck!(they've seen Sakura and Spider-man behind them, staving off Juura, who is with Gai and Lee, shouting about having to 'GLOMP' Lawlie and have two boys punish each other(SasuNaru NOSEBLEED).**

**Lawlie- Sakura! Spidie! Hurry and catch up!**

**Sakura turns and shakes her head sadly.**

**Gaara sighs and scoops up the stunned and striken author bridal style, waving to the others. Kiba winces and nods ,making Sparkle ride on ahead. Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji all sigh, Naruto with tears in his eyes, and follow them as they all run off.**

**~Heroic music tribute~**

_**Sakura and Spider-man fought bravely to fend off many attackers, as they allowed their comrades to get away.**_


	16. The Look

**_...As you look around, all you see is the chapter lying finished on the table, no trace of Lawlie anywhere. The place is dusty and un-used, but there are the faint lines of footprints in the dust on the floor, the only proof of it ever being used at all. Nobody has been here for quite some time now. Outside the window, you can see the faint outline of a plane flying up and taking off into a raging blizzard..._**

**_All you can do is read the completed chapter and give your feedback..._**

'Vanilla Twilight' by Owl City

* * *

Sasuke POV

We drove along the back way to the amusement park, the sun starting it's ever-so-slow descent. As I turned onto the lane that led to the docks of the town's edge of the ocean beaches, I glanced over at Naruto. He was bouncing in his seat, biting his lip excitedly. I smiled at him gently, love radiating from me. But he must've sensed something, because he turned to look at me curiously, having no clue that I'd just nearly had a heart-attack, hiding my face from his probing gaze.

His starlight blue eyes struck mine and I held back a gasp. I couldn't help it. Every time he looked at me like that...it took my breath away. I let myself smile, holding back the enormous amount of affection and replacing it with contentment. He looked uneasy, but quickly hid it or rejected it, shaking his golden head before grinning back at me.

I did _not_ blush. Besides. Any blush that _may_have occurred wouldn't have been seen anyways. Not that I blushed. Cause I didn't. Really. Anyways, Neji and Gaara were facing opposite ways now, but through my hind mirror, I could clearly see the linked hands between them. Looking closer in the side views, I saw the small, soft smiles each of them had of their faces. I couldn't help it. I was jealous. So jealous.

Glancing back at the happy teen next to me, I sighed lightly, shaking my head.

So when we pulled into the gravel parking lot of the beach's docking station, I stopped and turned the car off after pulling into a slot, and waited for everyone to empty out. I cleared my throat and beckoned to Neji and Gaara. They came over, glancing to the blonde, who was currently debating whether to take the leftover snacks with us. I sighed, and stepped closer to them both.

"Okay. We're going to 'lose you guys by accident' once inside. That way-"

Neji cut me off, "That way we can all have what we want," he looks over at the redhead, who blushes and looks away bashfully, hesitantly taking the Hyuuga's hand.

I smirked and nodded, walking back over to Naruto. Once he'd officially decided to leave behind the gummy worms, we all set off for the entrance, taking a moment to look down into the beach. The amusement park was settled on top of the huge dock, you see, and the water gently lapped at the wooden posts blow. Seagulls lazily drifted here and there, their calls echoing over the surface of the swishing waves.

I sighed, stepping in time a few feet behind the twirling blonde. As we went in, the lady at the ticket booth freaked me out considerably. Once Naruto had gone in, she'd apparently watched me gaze after him, affection clear in my eyes.

As I'd given her the four tickets, she'd somehow gotten next to me, and whispered, "What a catch! He's like sunshine itself, that un'! But thick as molasses in winter! You'll have a hard time if you go tha' roundabout way, dearie. Best just confess."

I swear, I nearly fell off the edge of the dock backing up from her. She just smiled, a snaggletooth hanging from her lip, and waved cheerily. I sighed and said nothing, wondering if I was really _that_ obvious.

Apparently so. Maybe I would tell him...

"Sasuke!" I turned to the little blonde who had backtracked to me and was excitedly going in circles in place. I smirked and snorted, sighing and shaking my head. He stopped, pouting at me and grabbing my arm to pull me along.

"Dobe! Let me go!"

He tugged me from one stall to the next, making me play with him in each one. We even played darts. Not that I minded, since I got to see him beaming at me and giggling. But when we reached the 'Dress up Barn', I drew the line.

"You can go and dress up like a moron, and I will be perfectly happy taking a picture with you in your little outfit, whatever it is. But I _will not_participate in the stupidness, okay?"

He pouted, but nodded and waited to see where I would sit and wait before heading to the 'Barn'. Notice the 'thingies'. It wasn't actually a barn. It was a tent. Not a small tent, I'll say, but a big one. But it wasn't a barn. Would so much money be lost if they called it a 'Dress Up Tent'? I think a little honesty would go...a long...ways. Dammit. Stuck my foot in my mouth again...

So-I watched for him, and eventually got bored and fell into a semi-sleep. Who takes that long to play dress up?

* * *

"Sasuke? Sasuke! TEME!" I sat so far up I fell over, landing in a tumble at the blonde's feet. I growled at them and stared. Small, petite over-grown paws were in front of me. I blinked, and looked up, slowly processing what was in front of me.

There were over-large paws hanging over his hands too, with a fuzzy orange and red belly. He had a hood on that huge floppy fox-ears were attached to, and when I took a second to look behind him, still in somewhat of a daze, I saw a big, limp fox tail that was just short of dragging on the ground. (I was still sitting on my ass beside the bench) I just stared up and him, a slow smile coming to my face.

He was blushing fire and a little scowl was decorating his face. His cheeks were puffed up, his mouth puckered, and his 'whisker' marks were standing out even more than the fake ones beside them. He was so...CUTE!

I leapt up and grabbed him, racing over and stuffing us both into one of the photo booths. He cried out, struggling to get away, but I just laughed and sat him down on my lap. Then, telling him to smile, I put my head on his shoulder, taking the picture. He complained and writhed, sitting next to me instead, and threatened to string me up but my 'chicken butt' if I ever did that again.

Chicken Butt?

So we took nearly thirty pictures, and once, when he put his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my own, I was so surprised I looked down with love and awe.

_Flash!_

CRAP. CRAP. CRAP. Now I'd have to go through thirty-odd pictures, find that particular one, and hide it.

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

Okay, so apparently, you don't get to choose which outfit you wind up in. When I went into that tent, I swear something _hit me over my head_!

I was stone cold. When I woke up-with a throbbing head ache-I was back outside, a little girl standing over me with a lollipop, pigtails sticking out. I groaned, sitting up, and gasped at the 'get-up' I was in. Looking venomously at the tent, I felt my eyes pop outta my head and roll away.

~_Note left on closed tent flaps: Closed.~_

Looking back down when I felt something crinkle, I gasped, felt my eyes then pop back in and roll into my skull and I flopped back down onto the dirt.

~_Note left on my paw: Keep the costume, since we took your clothes! Chu~~_

I admit it. There, in the middle of the street, I threw a rip-roarin' fit! I must have stomped and cursed in every language know to man or beast or ancient gummy-bear civilization.

So when I was done with my little fit, I noticed that Sasuke was sleeping on the bench, laying down like some hobo. Yes, a hobo. Some jerk had given him a half-eaten thing of nachos. REALLY?

So I threw the chips away not caring where they landed, and not really caring. I shook him.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Okay, so I lost my temper. "TEME!"

He jerked awake so fast it scared me, and flew off the bench, landing in a dark heap by in front of me. I could tell when he noticed by his silence, and the slow way he looked up at me.

His raven bangs fell around his pale, perfect face, and his obsidian eyes were huge with shock. I just sat there, giving him what I thought was a very impressive glare. He just jumped up, a little smile on his face, and yanked me to a strange black box. Hoping it wasn't what I suspected, I was pulled into the black curtains that covered the entrance, and stared, at a bright room with a camera.

_AWW HELL NO!_

Struggling, I managed to get half-out, when he pulled me back down onto his lap, against his hard-but-still-warm chest. I could feel his breath on my cheek when he leaned forward to press the 'take the picture' button. His wiry arms were laced around my waist, and he was unbelievably close to me. A blush like crimson purple was on my face, and I glanced at the direction I felt him in. My own 'paws' were curled around one of his hands, gripping it like iron. I pressed back self-consciously into the hollow of his body, cuddling subtly to him.

_Flash!_

_Crap._ Now I was going to have to get to the pictures first and take this particular one away before he found it. After we were done, we got out, only to be nearly run-over by this huge fat lady in a floral outfit. I froze, and felt the raven beside me tense to shout. I slapped my paw over his mouth, and 'shh-ed' him, pointing, my hand shaking, to the woman's fingers. It was the _same woman_ from the beach!

I gasped and tugged him away, grabbing the rows of photos hurriedly and stuffing them inside the suit, reassured that they wouldn't fall out, what with there being no openings. Yanking him with me, I quickly had us behind one of the booths, packed into on of the cracks, as she waddled past. She turned for a moment, and Sasuke wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to me, my back against his bodyand his breath blowing down my neck, she squinted, and leaned closer, making me scooch nearer, pressing myself desperately against the raven behind me (A:N-Yes, that was me teasing you...*nosebleed*).

So when she shrugged and went past, I let out a sigh and sank against Sasuke, letting his body support my own.

"Baka..." I heard something odd in his voice as he grabbed me and pulled me back up. Something close to tenderness.

Sighing and going back out of the crevice, we stretched, walking back around to the front of the booth. We began to play at the rides, twirling in a teacup slowly until I went insane and spun it with all my might. He was groaning constantly and me watching Sasuke getting paler, yellow, blue, then green, and finally a sickly orange. Very peculiar colors for him. I was laughing as he raced to the bathroom, staggering and slapping a hand over his mouth.

"Dobe...I'm gonna..ergh!" I grimaced and pulledaway from the doorway. He came swaying out a few moments later, and I held out the sprite I'd gone and gotten him. He grunted, taking it with a nod and sipped it, before taking a gulp and sighing.

"Hn," he murmured, glancing at me. I stared back at him. We erupted into chuckles, before we kept walking, going to the water log ride next. I waited for him to finish grumbling about the long line before pushing him into the first available log and jumped in after him, rolling my eyes at his complaints that I would tip the 'boat'. We rolled up and then splashed back down, the water spraying us. I snorted and giggled, wiping the water from my face. Yep, my shirt and pants were soaked already.

I glanced over and blinked before bursting into helpless laughs, clutching my sides. We splashed bacak down again and another wave washed over us. I spit and cough water out, still laughing at Sasuke. He was glaring at nothing, eyes flatlined, with a twitch in one of his eyelids. I patted his sopping spikes, pausing to marvel at it's softness, threading my fingers through it, before patting it again, leaning against him and reassuring him, "It'll be okay. We can go on the ferris wheel and get dry."

Three...

Two...

One...

"Fuck. No."

I chuckled and nodded, agreeing. Then, as we went up again, I heard him mutter something about damn fucking log rides. Rolling my eyes, I grinned as more water spurted all over us. He spat and grumbled, but smiled warmly at me through the corner of his eyes, thinking I couldn't see him. It made me warm and fuzzy inside that he would put up with something so obviously horrible to him just because I liked it.

"Dobe."

I rolled my eyes again and sighed, smiling over at him sincerly and enjoying the stunned experssion, a flicker of something reaching me before he masked it. I sighed again, and asked gently, "Jeees?"

He just shook his head and smirked, looking away. I didn't miss the happiness there. He thought I did...but I didn't...

* * *

_**Sasuke POV**_

_[Time skip a few hours]_

"Sasuke!" I swivled my head to look over at the most gigantic roller coaster I have ever seen in my life. It had swirls and turns and dips and barrel rolls. The people on the long cart riding it were like ants, and their tiny screamsjust barely reached me. DAMN IT WAS HUGE!

_WAIT. _I swallowed, hoping he wasn't going to say-

"CAN WE GO? PLEASE! AS OUR LAST RIDE?" I sighed, and went over to the eager teen, looking up again.

_God, it's even more huge up close._

But...he wanted to go...

* * *

"AAAWWW FUUUUUUCCKKKKK!" I screamed as the machine roared down the tracks.

Naruto was screaming beside me, his hands in the air, eyes wide with excitement. I felt like puking. I really shouldn't have let him talk me into getting onto this deathtrap. But...then I'd remembered the ferris wheel incident and caved. Of course. I knew it hadn't been the memory, but rather the puppy-faced blonde begging me to come with him.

When the tracks slowed and it crested another hill, I took the opportunity to take a breath for the inevitable scream.

Sure enough, as my stomach dropped out from beneath me, and Naruto giggled and threw his hands up again, another yell was ripped from my lips and I shrieked loudly along with the rest of the roller snake filled with people.

Neji and Gaara were supposed to be ditching us as we rode, and going somewhere else to spend time together and leave me to ponder my predicament. I knew that both of them were hoping I'd decide to admit to the little teen next to me that I loved him. But I was still nervous.

So as the ride came to a halt and my hands came unfrozen from the bar blocking my death, I moved them stiffly to my side, and waited for Naruto to get off.

"Can we go again?"

_Ha! I'm so sick I can't see your puppy-dog eyes!_

I groaned and muttered, "No way in fuck," and sat down heavily on the bench, holding back the vomit. There was no way I way going to show how horrible that experience had been for me when he'd enjoyed it so much. I swallowed, winced at the acidic sensation, and got up, swaying slightly before straightening up gently, careful not to jolt my nauscous stomach.

"Are you alright?" his voice sounded close, but the world was spinning, so I nodded and bit back another groan at the added motion. Taking a deep breath subtly, I moved forward and held gently onto the counter of a stand next to me, and I'm surprised it wasn't broken into dust by my white-knuckled grip.

He was watching me secretly, I learned later, and smiling, appreciating what I was trying to do.

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

He was standing, and I had to pull back from the dive I started as he swayed deeply. He straightened with obvious effort. He kept heaving his chest. I hadn't meant to make him sick. I felt a pinch of guilt. I hadn't really thought about the look on his face since I 'd looked at the roller coaster. It had been one of sacrifice but also a mysterious other emotion I had yet to place.

It had come up several times lately, but whenever I would look over and spot it, it would be quickly erased. When I'd looked in the car at it, the look had startled me it was so powerful, but when turning to look closer, it had vanished, and been replaced by a mask. Again, at the log ride earlier, it had only been a flicker...but it had been there. I frowned, confused and sad that Sasuke felt he couldn't be honest with me.

When he tried to take a step, I bit my tongue to keep in the shout of warning as he began to sway heavily again, about to fall. From that moment until I saw his eyes refocus, I know I aged fourty years.

I'm not sure why I cared so much. It's not like he was going to die from a six foot drop (that's about how tall Sasuke is), right? I just didn't want him to get hurt because of me.

"My back hurts," I murmured, further proof of my aging. He gave an odd look, and I retreated a little, letting off my nerves to heave a sigh. He wasn't harmed and I could rest easy.

But the look on his face somehow got me going, as we left the park, and saw Neji and Gaara waiting for us out by Sasuke's car.

I started to laugh and clutched my sides, unable to stem the noise. The people around us drowned me out though, because I wasn't loud like usual, but soft and baffling, it seemed, to the raven next to me. But soon, another emotion took place in his eyes, and I gasped, quitting the laughing quickly at it's appearance.

He looked at me with such wonder and amazement, with pure kindness and caring for a split second, it took my breath away from me and left my chest aching. Just in that moment, a thought with dreadful and wonderful power took hold of me, and I wanted to kiss him.

_Oh no..._

* * *

**...You finish reading it and smile, [enter random fangirl/guy reaction], and put it back down, looking around once more before writing down your review and putting it on the table next to the stack of papers. You notice something written faintly on the surface of the table, and you have to light a match to read it, having spent a long time reading the latest chapter and the ephmerial light from the still blowing snow outside isn't bright enough...**

**~Note on the Table::**

_I'm sorry I couldn't talk as myself, but I had to get onto a plane. Please review my story. I'll hopefully be back soon._

_Lawlie-_


	17. Drip Drip Drip

Intro: I'm finally introducing Kyuubi, for those of you who wondered.

Have to put this in, even tho Itachi threatened to kill me for it:3 (it's on youtube, so put (delete the dashes) "http-:/-/-www.-youtube" in front of it, ne?) .com/watch?v=Jreoqqs-2Tg&feature=related

Okay, so several times, I tried to continue from that night, but I just couldn't, and so there was about a 24-hour time skip. Sorry to those who get befuddled by not reading this, (side-but if they don't read it...the apology is pointless, ne?) and I just wanted to let everyone know. Sorry you waited so long for such...well, in the words of a good friend of mine..."Lots of gay babies were born today!" Also, I know some of it is suckish, but please bear with me. I know I need to get that damn confession in, but I suddenly re-read it and realized...No Kyu? Dat's just wrong! Okay. Submit your vote via review.

_**Nice or Evil Kyuubi? Or a bit nice, with cynicism and some rough humor? Vote Today!**_

Enjoy!

'Untitled' by Simple Plan

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

So as we were walking down the hallway, I bit my lip, looking straight down at my shoes.

_Man…my shoes are crappy,_I looked over at Sasuke's. _Damn it._

His shoes were all converse and black…cooler.

We turned the corner, and walked out of the dorm building, into the connecting hall, and on our way to the large class building where our first period was held.

See, our campus was set up like this; the girls' dormitories are on one side, close to the road out of town, then there are the main three class buildings, connected to each other and the dorms by long, two lane halls with large windows all the way down the sides. On the complete _opposite side_of the females, our own two buildings were stationed, near to Tsunade's own place. I know. It's like nobody trusts our hormonal control. Pfft. Disbelievers. Tsunade's private quarters were at the top of one of the class buildings, a wide window always open staring out over her 'domain'.

"Dobe." I had stopped, looking down at my shoes still. Having been startled, I raised my head and saw Sasuke a bit in front of me, head cocked slightly, with the beginnings of a smirk lifting the corner's of his mouth. But before I could catch myself, my eyes connected with his, and a tiny bolt of static went through my chest, warming it, and into my fingertips, making me suppress a small shudder of pleasure.

His dark, black orbs whirled with thoughts and simmered with all his hidden emotions.

Sucking in a shuddery breath, I forced myself to blink, if only so my eyes wouldn't shrivel up and die from de-moisturizing. But in that instant, he looked away, an uneasy twitch to the now downward curve of his lips. A strange look had come into his eyes, and it made me…sad. Deciding something, I stepped closer, releasing my lip from in between my teeth.

"Sasuke?" I leaned in, a question bubbling in my mouth, but before I could say anything, he turned, and I realized something. I'd leaned too far. Just as I opened my mouth to ask him said question, his head turned and his lips connected with mine. His eyes flew open, and then fluttered shut, his body pressing against my own, shocked on. I was stiff, until he began to massage my lips with his, and I relaxed into his arms, letting my eyes close slowly.

"Naruto?" he waved a hand in my view, standing about three feet away. I blinked furiously, and snapped out of it. Blushing so hard my blood drowned him out, I fast-walked straight past him and around the corner, bursting into the bathroom door. Racing into a stall, I sat down heavily and leaned against the plastic wall.

This couldn't be happening. No no no no no no …..Damn it all! I'd had my head down for a reason. Fuck. I felt confused and flustered tears coming to my eyes. Blinking, I wiped them angrily away. No way in hell was I going to _cry_ over something like this. I just sat there for a minute, and let the blood pulsing through my head quiet and settle at a normal rate again.

As I calmed down, I registered the pair of pair of slightly shuffling black converse right outside the stall. I sighed, and stood up, taking a deep breath before opening the door with a slight creak. Without me being able to say anything, he grabbed the strap on my bag-I'd backed out of the stall- and yanked me out of the bathroom, whirling me around to face him, he was scowling. I squinched up my face and tried to meet his eyes, wimping out and instead focusing on the bridge between them.

He grabbed my chin and turned me to look at the door we'd emerged from. Oh.

"Dobe! The girls' restrooms! God, I feel so," I looked over at him, shaking off his grip, and smirked at his expression, "Urgh!" He suppressed a mild shudder, walking past me. I blinked, and then relaxed, thankful to him for not saying anything about…_that. _I held back my own, stronger shudder, as I remembered.

"Naruto…"

_DAMN. _I just looked down and slowed, waiting for the question.

"You don't have to tell me what the hell that was about," he mumbled something else I couldn't make out, "But I do want you to know; you _can _talk to me about anything. Anything at all. You know that…right?" He'd stopped, and wasn't facing me, but his back was relaxed, and his voice was a relief to me, as it soothed my pumping heart.

But I hesitated, and didn't reply, unsure if he meant…anything. Like this.

"Dobe, I-"

"Naruto! Sasuke!" I whirled, my heart rate jumping through the roof and into space. Sakura was running towards us, backpack swinging from her shoulder and book clutched to her chest. But suddenly I felt a wave of resentment wash over me, making me barely be able to mask the glare I nearly sent her. She'd interrupted Sasuke. _My_Sasuke.

_WHAT THE FUCK?_

Blushing crazily, I turned to the wall and repeatedly smacked my head against it. When a spin went on, I just kept going, wishing I could actually do that without someone stopping me. I mumbled incoherently to myself, freaking out over my own thoughts. I blushed harder as I dwelled on said thoughts.

But…it felt nice. To call him…mine. All mine. Him. I glanced at him, and saw his defeat clearly behind the mask he wore, feeling bad for being such a coward.

_But…what if…he doesn't…_ I sighed. Of course he didn't feel the same way. How could he?

-_You never know, Kit-_

I jumped, startled, and looked over at a chatty pinkette and raven, who were talking.

"Hey…uh...did someone say something to me just now?" Sasuke looked up, and I swallowed, forcing the lump down my throat, but he shook his head, and frowned.

"Why, what happened?"

I just shook my blonde locks, and turned away, biting my lips. As he put the mask over the hurt in his eyes, he sighed and looked back at a confused Sakura.

She whispered something to him, motioning at me-I saw through my bangs-but he just blushed (Naru/N: Yes, I know. But he did) and shook his head again, averting his eyes to the floor.

She scowled and slapped him upside the head, growling something I didn't hear, and drawing a grimace from him.

He snapped his head up and growled, then murmured something else gentler, and she softened, but still glared at him, as he seemed to turn worried. I stood there, not two feet away, with a secret being kept from me.

It made me sad, but hey, not like I could say something. Besides, to turn back to the matter at hand…what had that been about?

But nothing else happened as we went on to class. I waited, nervous, for them to catch up. What the hell was going on? Was there something…like THAT between them? I blanched, then gagged and ended up chuckling as I quickly dismissed the notion. Sure, Sakura was our friend, but that was all.

So what was it?

"Hey bastard!" I flinched by habit and turned slowly to look at Ino, who was glaring at me from inside the class door, "I thought you were dead, you damn fox! What the fuck?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and it tightened. I tried to relax, and stepped back, closer to the raven that had come up behind me. The aura of anger was projected past me and into the room. Ino hesitated.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's grab a seat away from the cheap merchandise," he muttered, letting his arm slide around me and pull me forward. I swallowed the blush forcibly and followed him to the far end of the class, away from the hateful girl.

Sakura was walking beside us, glaring at the ice-blonde. She snarled and herded us to a row near the teacher's desk. I sat down next to Sasuke and laid my head down gently onto my folded arms, staring at the surface of the desk.

Next to me, the raven sighed and I just closed my eyes sadly. This was definitely _not_ going to work. Not like this….

* * *

**_Sasuke POV_**

"Hey bastard!" I stopped and listened, standing a little back from Naruto, who slowly turned and looked inside the room. "I thought you were dead, you damn fox! What the fuck?" I growled loudly, and bared my teeth, clenching my fists so hard they carved little half-moons with their nails into the soft skin of my palms.

I saw him flinch and Sakura shied away, withdrawing from the poison leaking from my pores.

I stepped up, putting a protective and comforting hand on my dobe's shoulder, and he stiffened, before cautiously backing up into my hold. Ino paused, and I glared dangerously at her, eyes glinting with daggers.

She stood, as if unsure of what to do now. So I naturally took charge of the situation, bringing my arm completely around Naruto and tugging him away, as I muttered loudly, "Come on, Naruto. Let's grab a seat away from the cheap merchandise."

I loved the confusion and then hurt in her eyes, taking them in and pooling then with my hatred of her as I turned, letting Sakura come into the room behind us.

She stood on the other side of my blonde, glared and practically pulling at her imaginary leash, trying to snap at the ice-blonde across the room.

Pulling us over to the front desk, she seated us beside it. When we sat down, though, Naruto just laid his head on his arms and sighed deeply. I frowned worriedly at the anguish in it, however subtle. He was definitely bothered by something hard. I couldn't help it. I sighed and reached over and tapped his shoulder, tugging him near me. I saw a heated flush light up his face and hesitated.

_What? Why is _he _blushing? _But I got closer, wrapping my arms around him lightly, and giving him a little hug. He squeaked and I released him, staring at his chili red face.

"Dobe? What-" Is it officially 'Interrupt Sasuke' day? Huh? Kakashi came in, oddly on time, and sat on his desk, pulling a book out.

"Finished molesting Naruto, Sasuke?" I must've turned eight different shades of blue, purple, and a nice shade of maroon-If I may say so myself- before settling on dark grey.

As for Kakashi himself, he seemed to have not realized his mouth had made those betraying sounds for a moment, and sat there, just as surprised as I was.

Then, just as he was really beginning to turn sour and into a cold body, Sakura laughed loudly and awkwardly, patting me roughly on the back, and I could practically hear her screaming inside, "Please don't break anything! Tsunade will murder me if you do!"

"You're so _funny_Kakashi! Ne, Sasuke?" She glanced nervously at me, and I nodded stiffly, melding my hands together in front of me, my coal black eyes boring into the shivering silver before me. I translated a singe sentence by way of glare.

_Your ass is mine._

He shakily put down is book, and stood, going over to the board, which-as it happened-was on the opposite side of the room from the desk- and began to talk about what we would be doing that week.

Silently, I was actually really glad he wasn't going to say anything about us being back. We'd actually arrived about five minutes before everyone else, and Ino apparently hadn't said much since our little entry. (Sasu/N: Not that they would dare*creepy shadowed face with one round, red eye looking out, nasty grin on his face*)

So as the class wore on, I just waited for something. Dunno what, exactly. But I knew I'd know when I knew what it was I thought I was supposed to know. That doesn't make sense, does it? Ahem. Well, of course not. Only an Uchiha could figure that out. Hehe...

"Sasuke?" I blinked, and snapped out of my private musings, looking behind us at Sakura, who was leaning over her desk to get beside my head and whisper.

"So what about the thing we talked about before? When are you gonna tell him, dammit?" She switched to a glare, and I found myself-by habit-nearly stabbing her to death with my own eyes. She paused, then sighed and shook her head.

"You know what? If you screw this us, I'll never forgive you. But what you choose to do is your own problem. Fix it up yourself."

I grimaced and laid my head on my arms, mimicing Naruto, who had all but fallen asleep next to me. No, this definitely wasn't going to work out.

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

When we stood for the bell, I yawned and shouldered my bag, watching Sasuke's firm back move as we walked out of the room to the next class. He shifted slighty, turning his head to look at me. I glanced away hurriedly, flinching internally at the low, almost _pained _sigh I received in return.

Ducking my head, I kept following, and we eventually reached second period. Asuma waved and then paused, sending a questioning glance over at me.

I tried to ignore it, but soon he came over in person and nudged me, only to be practically hissed at by Sasuke.

Yes, _hissed at._

_Like a cat._ As in '_Rawr-hhiii!'_

Several people looked around, but all they saw was our teacher walking quickly back towards his desk to sit down.

The raven next to me huffed, but said nothing, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. You could cut the awkward with a...a...a feather tip. Or...a spork. Yes. A spork. I just wish I hadn't been such a damn scaredy cat.

Watching him, I jumped, slightly startled, when Kiba tapped me on the shoulder, and grinned at me.

He patted me on the back, oblivious to the danger he was in.

I shook my head slightly, and the 'I-will-carve-my-name-in-the-skin-of-your-eyeballs-and-make-you-bleed-from-your-fingernails-and-then-rip-your-limbs-into-tiny-tiny-itsy-bitsy-little-pieces-and-mount-them-on-my-wall' aura dissipated, if only a bit, and Sasuke's finger's released thier bone-crushing hold that his hands had on the arms they were holding, leaving and obvious 'bruise-to-be' on the spot they'd tightened on.

I sighed, and reached under the table, patting his knee lightly to reassure him, before blushing bright cherry, and quickly removing my pulsating hand, hot where it'd touched his pants leg. He let his hair shadow his face, seeming to nod, and let his chair legs go down, burying his face in his arms.

I sighed subtly, and turned fully to the brunette beside me, blinked. Now there were two. Shikamaru had snuck up and had his arm around Kiba's shoulders, oblivious to the just barely blushing teen he was hanging on.

Kiba, for his part, was trying with all his might to ignore the lean Nara's close-pressed body, and babbling about some video game he'd bought recently. I smiled wanly, and nodded along, the whole time just wondering if they'd said anything to each other yet.

Before the...then, I'd only just found out that Kiba had a major crush on the lazy-bones twenty year old, and was on the verge of going insane with his secret, seeing as they resided in the same dorm, and in said dorm, Shikamaru usually just laid crawled out onto the roof and laid in the sun, topless. The poor boy had been driving himself bonkers, trying to hide it, while still wanting to confess.

(Naru/N: *evil laugh*)

Not that Shikamaru had any clue, to his ultimate defeat in brainiacs. Kinda funny how a boy with an IQ over 250 couldn't figure out that: "TopLess Shika + Drooling Kiba = Lovey-Dovey Crush!" Not too bright, for such a_smart _boy, eh? No, but it isn't like I can talk, this in mind, I feel my smile fade, and I quickly glanced at Sasuke. My eyes widened, and I knew my cheeks heated up, as I saw he was watching me as well, looking away swiftly when our eyes met.

Frowning, I tuned back into Kiba...or tried to. Right when I was about to cut him off, Shikamaru muttered something to him, and his breath puffed over Kiba's ear by accident, and the Inuzuka leapt straight damn up in the air, cursing as he blushed fiery pink, and shoved away from the very surprised other. Shika started to fall, but Kiba cursed again and grabbed at him, catching his foot on some unknown thing, and falling with him.

After the imaginary dust cleared-there was quite a bit~cough, cough~and the tumbleweed passed-I stifled a chuckle and nealry bit my tongue in half trying to keep it in. Kiba was laying right on Shika's lap, and had his arms above them both. The older teen, for his part, didn't seem to be all that freaked out(you could even say he wasn't displeased with thier situation) and wrapped his arms around the other, lifting them up to a sitting position.

But it seemed as though the smaller boy had hit his forehead, and was a bit dazed, leaning into the strong arms surrounding him. Shika blushed lightly, and something connected. Glancing around, I saw that nobody but Sasuke and Asuma knew what'd happened, not that either were doing much to mention it, and I 'pst-ed' the Nara teen, motioned for the door, and lead them outside into the hallway.

"Yeah, what is it?" he said, and put Kiba in myseat, before following me out. I sighed dramatically.

"Oh, for the folly of youth, young grasshoppa."

He stared at me, an eyebrow barely twitching, like it really wanted to raise, but was-like it's owner-too lazy to do so. As it did, I watched it, but grew tired and sighed wisely.

"Tis not you that will teach the pig, but the pig that knows all." He blinked, and rubbed his face, muttering, "I swear, a few brain cells die somewhere everytime you open your mouth." I scewred up my face and pouted, but quickly, flicked him on the forehead.

"Moron." He blinked, and stared at me incredulously, pointing first to me, and then to him, apparently stunned with my choice of words.

Too stunned to talk. He just motioned for me to explain, waiting expectantly.

I laughed, "Oh no, not me. I'm not going to say. Ask your little puppy over there, since he's the one with the secret."

His eyes widened, and he looked slowly to the brunette sitting up beside Sasuke, now softly telling him something and gesturing to both of us vaguely. The raven just stared at him, impassive as ever. I grinned and nudged Shika, who had gotten a bit of a far-off look to him. I stifled another little laugh, and kicked Kiba out of my chair, sitting down heavily and announcing to the raven, "Full day's work!" He just smirked and rolled his eyes. But he was chuckling. On the inside.

Asuma kept talking, and I'm pretty sure I wrote something about quadratics down. Probably. When the bell rang, I stuffed by notebook away, and stretched, standing up, only to be shoved back down. I shrunk back, used to this, and looked up at the dirty silver hovering over me, a sneer on his angular face.

"Mizuki. What do you think you're doing?" I heard from behind me, and a shadow fell across us both. Damn Sasuke can be scary. I retreated until I was almosr right up against him, and he hissed around me, waiting for a reply. The other teen seemed unimpressed, and stepped closer to me, reaching out and stroking my chin with a cold finger.

* * *

As Mizuki reached out, and brushed his hand along Naruto's jawline, the Uchiha stiffened, and jerked forward, grabbing the boy's sickly pale fingers and practically crushing them into a ball, squeezing his own hand around them angrily.

He growled out, eyes nearly glowing coal black, flecks of stark red flickering, "Mizuki. I said before. Just what the _fuck _do you think you're _doing?_!" He bit off his snetence, seething, and pressed his hand harder, almost snapping the silver's fingers in two. This time, the other winced but still growled at the little blonde, using his other hand to stick his finger to his lips and try to brush past into Naruto's mouth. The small teen gasped and jerked back, ducking under Sasuke's arm and pressing his face against the raven's firm back, biting back a pathetic whimper.

_Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke._

Glancing painfully at his little dobe, the Uchiha teen snapped back at the dingy haired teen, whose hand he was debating whether or not to break.

"Come on, Uchiha. Everyone knows you hate that little fucker just as much as everyone else. But as long as he gives me what I want," the male trailed off, and scanned Naruto's body with a cruel eye, "I'll be nice." Sasuke felt the hard shudder Naruto gave upon hearing that, and was seriously about to squash the guy's fingers into liquidized bones marrow, when the blonde suddenly collapsed behind him, and he immediately released Mizuki, who just watched cynically whilst he snatched Naruto up and yelled to Asuma.

The man came barrelling out of his office, and got out his phone, dialing.

"Kakashi! It really happened. Quickly!"

He shut the cell again and helped open the class door for the two of them, forgeting that it was still between periods, and they were almost completely trampled, before Sasuke began to generate death to all who got too near to them.

* * *

_**Sasuke POV**_

When I set him back down, Naruto's eyelids had stopped flickering so rapidly, and I had calmed down a bit from the stress of having so much fury pumping through my body that it'd made my head pound with my pulse.

As I laid him on the grass beside a tree and waited for our english teacher to come on and get there already, I put my back against the trunk and slid down to sit beside him, watching the sun play little dappled patterns across his golden spikes through the leaves overhead.

He groaned and turned, somehow ending up lying with his head in my lap. I blushed slightly, and petted his hair, which-unsurprisingly for him-I found he leaned into. I smiled gently, continuing and rubbing his scalp.

His breathng slowed more, and I sighed, relieved. He really had improved greatly. He no longer screamed when he got like this, and I could usually calm him back down pretty quickly. So when he started to pant a little, I furrowed my brow, but it didn't get worse. He just looked very deep in concentration. I sighed again, deeper this time, and kept stroking his cheeks and hair, trying to not get riled up by the despicable memory of Mizuki _touching MY dobe_(!). Growling away my groan of frustration, I dismissed the thoughts, focusing on the matter at hand.

What was up with Naruto?

* * *

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_I wake up, and blink against the dull grey green light that illuminates the narrow hall I am laying in. But the bottom is flooded, and I hurry to stand, only to realize that I don't feel wet. Yes, my clothes are dripping and sopping, and water is falling in rivulets from my hair and chin, but I still feel like I'm standing next to an oven. Or in a dryer._

_I clench and unclench my fists, trying to make sense of everything. Wet but not wet._

_Standing, I look up and down the corridor. A heavy wind suddenly comes from down one end, and blows through my blonde hair, ruffling it like a gale. Picking stray strands from my eyes and open mouth, I hesitate, before heading into the slowing breeze. It stops, as I reach a turn, and I pause._

_Seven seconds._

_It comes again, and I think this time, I ear something else. A word._

_But I can't be sure, and dimiss the thought, following the wind again. This repeats several times, until I'm positive I heard a word. Or a name._

_Biting my lip, I know I can see a faint glow, still grey green, but brighter than here, up ahead. Following yet another wind, I find myself in a huge, open room, and see water droplets falling from somewhere far overhead, presumably where the constant dripping noise is coming from._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Craning my neck, I strain to see what's leaking, but the drops come from shadows, and a dull green sheen reflects from the now shin-high water, cutting off my view of my feet and ankles. I shiver, somehow having a sense of...deja vu._

_"Na...ru...to..." I stiffen, certain of what I've just heard, and turn slowly. Behind me, where I had had yet to even glance, the entire wall is taken up by a gigantic set of cage doors. The wind breaks free of the darkness within them, and suddenly, I am scared, but curious. I step a little closer, wary, and call out softly, "Hello?"_

_The breath, as I now know it to be, comes once more before a faint rumbling. A slit of red appears, huge and crimson._

_Another, right beside it, and I recognize them as the eyes of some wild thing, as red as pure and blood-like as those can only belong to something...untamed._

_I feel my throat run dry, and hesitate again, scooting a tiny bit nearer. The large slits widen somewhat, and I murmur once more, as I know whatever it is can hear me, "W-who...or what are you?"_

_All of a sudden, an emormous mouth shines and gleams with two body-long sets of teeth, and the thing chuckles, deep and loud and trembling the room. The eyes open a little bit more, to reveal vertical slashes of black in the centers, and I shudder again._

_I ask again, "Wh-who are you? You, in the cage." That stupid remark almost makes me laugh for myself. Who else would I be talking to but the monsterous creature in front of me?_

_Apparenty watever this thing is finds it amusing too, for it chuckles some more, and the sound rings an oddly familiar bell. I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up, like I'm being stared down by a predator. But then I realize._

_That is exactly what I am doing._

_Then, surprising me, even though I had asked, It speaks. It's voice is growling, and gives the impression of a snarl, but strangely deep and soft. Feral and wild._

_"Oh, but kitling. You already know who I am. You have known me your entire life."_

_I feel the fear and dread finally settle in my stomach, replacing the curiosity and wonder at my little 'discovery'. Splashing in the somehow waist-deep water, I back up, gazing widely up at the crimson-eyed thing._

_"Kyuubi."_

* * *

_**Okay. I know it lacks something, but it was 2 am, and I felt like I was on a roll, so I went with it. Hope you liked it...? Please vote. Good bad, or in between Kyuubi?**_


	18. Confused, to Say the Least

'Lies of the Beautiful People' by Sixx. A.M.

* * *

Last time on Lost Kit:

_"Oh, but kitling. You already know who I am. You have known me your entire life."_

_I feel the fear and dread finally settle in my stomach, replacing the curiosity and wonder at my little 'discovery'. Splashing in the somehow waist-deep water, I back up, gazing widely up at the crimson-eyed thing._

_"Kyuubi."_

* * *

_As I listen to the fear coursing through me, I watch the enormous demon fox stand and come closer to the cage doors, his deep fire-orange fur rippling with no wind, it's gleaming surface shuddering beautifully. He growls slightly, but there is no menace in it._

_Swallowing, I decide to ask._

_"Why...have you come back?"_

_"Back?" he smirks, two long canines coming out and poking his big, black, bottom lip, the top curling into a wild smile, "But I never left, brat."_

_Never left?_

_"But then why-"_

_He interrupts, and his eyes widen, pupils dilating to survey me, "I have been resting."_

_"Resting?"_

_He makes an affirmating noise, and sits back down, nose tip just barely protruding from the bars of the cage. I draw a tiny bit forward, and notice that the water has lowered back to my ankles, swishing around my feet warmly. The edge of a brush of fur appears swiftly, and then disappears, from above his head, winding back into the shadows. A tail. One of his nine._

_"Yes," and I draw my attention back to his eyes, feeling oddly at peace and distant, "Asleep. I was...sealed a long time ago." He refused to elaborate, and we stayed in silence, even though I had a million questions._

_I finally settled for one._

_"Why now, then?" He raised what I assumed to be his eyebrow, and cocked his gigantic skull, the fur on his huge ears quivering with the movement._

_He growled, and closed his eyes, lips shutting tightly._

_"Why have I only just now found out, Kyuubi?" I hightened my voice a little, and got closer._

___He rose, and suddenly more tip and threads of fur began to dart around from inside the darkness behind the bars. __A louder snarl ripped through the large, cavernous room, and his crimson eyes snapped open once more, "Careful how you address me, brat. I am no house pet or kitty cat with which you can take such a tone!" By the time he was done, he was panting and roaring, shaking the whole place with his quick rage._

_I swallowed, but resolved myself._

_"Then why? Answer me!" I backed up even as I said this, prepared or the worst._

_But the monstrous fox just let his breath hiss out and muttered something about going soft in his old age._

_"All the stress your body and mind have endured has worked to wake me." His voice was softer to the end, but soon he snapped at me through the bars once again, and snarled hugely, "Begone! Your mate awaits you!"_

_Suddenly I was falling, and then jolted awake, my eyelids fluttering open. But all I could see was black. Oh my god._

* * *

"I'm blind!" I screamed, and sat up, my forehead colliding painfully with something rock hard.

"Ahh! What the fucking hell?" A familiar voice shrieked and I landed on my back, blinked and crying out, my forehead aching in pain.

A tree's limbs sway overhead, and I blinked again, now rubbing that spot on my head, looking around without moving, because moving would mean my head just might fall off, due to me knocking it out of socket with whatever the fuck had smacked into me. Suddenly though, in went black again.

Well, onyx, to be precise. A dark shade of coal, with little flecks of crimson flitting about inside the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my life.

_"Begone! Your mate awaits you!" _Echoes back to me, and I blink just once more, before murmuring softly, eyes still connected, "Sasuke?"

He scowled, and I smirk. A red mark is practically glowing in the center of his forehead.

"Dobe."

* * *

_**Sasuke POV**_

He looked so peaceful. His lids had stilled again, and his pants had ceased, his breathing smoothening out until he looked like a beautiful, golden, dead boy, with patterns of sunshine flicking across his skin. As I stroked his cheek, I thought about my feelings, and gathered myself. I would do it. I knew I had to. For my sanity, and for his sake.

Also...I was getting worried about what Sakura and Kakashi could accomplish if they teamed up. On me.

Swallowing just thinking of the possibilities, I let my hand fall, and I bowed my head, eyes scanning his perfect face. I knew this was more important than me telling him I loved him. Just being with him. Just being able...to be like this. To have him near me and always make him smile.

Suddenly though, in the midst of me googly-eyeing him, his eyes flashed open and he blinked, crying out and sitting up right into me. Surprise! I cried out loudly, letting him go and clutching at my now searing forehead.

"I'm blind!"

"Ahh! What the fucking hell?"

I let him roll off me, and I ended up falling over onto my side and slipping down the small hill we were seated on. When I managed to get the pain under wraps and struggle back up the hill, I put one hand on the other side of him and leaned over, and upon seeing the now glazed look in his bright cerulean eyes I looked at him.

"Sasuke?"

Then, fighting my blush with all my might, I glowered down at him, frustrated. The little smirk that grew on his face made me want to stop being irritated and kiss him, but I forced the impulse down.

"Dobe," I muttered gently, reached over with my other hand, stroking his ckeek, getting him nice and stunned, before pinching it a little. He yelped and shoved me off, pouting.

"Meanie-teme!" I just laughed.

"Ah! Revenge is sweet!" (A/N: Ironic, ne?) I chuckled, sitting back and helping him to sit up. Seeing his matching forehead glow, I had to fight the bark of merriment down. He could be so careless.

Finally, after a little while, we decided to give up on Kakashi getting there, and stood, proceeding to go to fourth period, seeing as we'd missed third already. Or most of it. The bell rang loudly overhead just as we strolled into the hallway and we both started a little. Hundreds of teenager poured into the wide space like animals, racing to get somewhere or do something.

"Sasuke!" I turned in the huge bundle of people, to find Naruto being carried away by the tide. He was reaching out, and I tried to race after him, as fast as a person in molasses can do so, and failed miserably, calling out for him as he disappeared fro my view.

* * *

Shoved from one person to the next, Naruto was almost in tears, seperated from the raven. He panted and a hand reached out a snatched him into an empty classroom. Resting and smiling, relieved, he turned.

"Thank you so..much," his voice wavered and died, fear coming into his gut, as he saw Mizuki not two feet away, stepping closer yet to him. He swallowed dryly, throat suddenly parched, and backed up into the now closed door. He tried the handle. How convienient. Locked.

His eyes widened, showing more white than blue, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on tip.

_"What is it, brat?"_

Stiffening, he thought, _Kyuubi? Is that you?_

_No. Slap some wings on and call me the tooth fairy. Dumbass. Course it's me._

Naruto huffed to the fox, _There is a nice way to say things, you know. I could've finally snapped, for all I knew. You could've _been_ the Tooth Fairy._

Naruto had been so absorbed in his Fairy Fox, that he'd presently forgotten about the matter at hand. It came back to him full force, and he began to hyperventilate, trying to crush his body into the wall. Mizuki was saying something, but he couldn't hear anything past the roar in his ears, blood pumping and seething a fear so fierce his vison was starting to go red.

And suddenly_-_he was nearly completely passed out on the floor of the classroom, the dirty silver passed out, a bruise on the pressure point on his neck. Small cuts were covering his arms, but he wasn't bleeding heavily.

"Ergh...what..?" he tried to get up, and noticed the strong hurt in his hands. Looking downs, he could faintly make out his nails, pointy and sharp, dull back down and return to normal. His teeth were poking his lips for a moment, before the stinging was relieved, and he could speak easily again.

_What...happened?_

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

When the room stopped spining, I sat up woozily, and couldn't stop staring at my hands. More like my fingernails, really. And once or twice, I reached up to feel my scars and 'fangs'. What had happened back then? Why couldn't I remember anything? Had I just imagined my body...changing?

I thought of something.

_Kyuubi?_

_Suddenly, I am back in the green light, looking up at the giant cage doors once again._

_There is no movement, only the deep rumble of him sleeping. Maybe I was mistaken after all..._

Blinking, I look around at the empty room, and stand, going over to the door, noticed a bloodsmeared key-shook my head to stop the spaz freak out- turned the icky key in the door's lock, sliding it open. Oh good. Whatever did happen-I'm not going to freak out about it right now-took up at least a good five to six minutes, and I have about two left to get to class. (A/N: They have seven minutes between classes)

So, I turned nonchalantly down the hall and proceeded to history with Ibiki. As I got closer, I spotted a mop of raven hair bobbing up and down right inside an open doorway.

Realiing something, I paused.

"Well. I seem to be taking this rather well, I must say. Oh well," I gave up, sighing, "Karma will kick my ass for it soon enough, I suppose," and I scooted to the open doorjam, peeking inside, to find Orochimaru looking back, glaring at my Sasuke.

Yep. That's karma just a callin' my name, alright. Good ol' pale skined, molester McCreeper Karma. I can honestly say...I wish I could be surprised by this little turn of events. That might've made up for the fear I suddenly felt in the pit of my stomach.

But they were speaking, and it is very rude to mind ramble when people are trying to speak.

"...but Orochimaru-"

"That is Mr. Sannin to you, Uchiha. _Mr. Sannin._ And i don't see what the big deal is. So what if the little beast got taken by an axe murderer?" his brows snapped together, and he spat out 'the beast'. I cringed and shut my eyes a little.

"Oro-_Sannin,"_Sasuke spit the word out aswell, and kept going, "I have to find him! Just let my teachers know I won't be there until later! P-p-p..." he mumbled something. The McCreeper put a hand to his ear and yawned, beckoning.

"Didn't _quite _get that, Sasuke dear, could you repeat?" Sasuke glared at him and muttered it louder.

Getting a glint of cruelty in his face, McCreeper stood and walked saucily over to the raven, reaching out and taking his chin his his long, skinny fingers. I held back a little vomit, biting down on the edge of my tongue to stop the gag. Eww!

He just _touched _Sasuke.

My Sasuke.

He. Touched. My...Sasuke.

I nearly stepped out right then, ready to snap his arm into forty three pieces and add salt for the geese, when Sasuke whipped out is hand, grabbing Orochimaru's wrist and twisting it. The McCreeper's eww eyes widened, and he got closer, a smirk on his face.

"Finally going to let me, Uchiha?"

Up until then, Sasuke's eyes had been shadowed, but now I could see them. They were so black they were the opposite of light. More like miniature black holes than his normal, gorgeous eyes. They swivled, and stared at the pale Creeper above him, tightening his hold until his knuckles were white. The man went on.

"If you find him, you could even ask the little monster to join us. He's so cute, even for a motherless bastard. I've been meaning to-"

And that was as far as he got. Suddenly, he was on the ground, Sasuke's face right next to his ear, whispering harshly.

"If you ever lay one finger on Naruto, I will not have mercy. I will give you pain so true you will wish you had never heard the name Sasuke Uchiha. I will break every bone in your body and break the fragments in four pieces each. I will pierce your fingers together. Then your arms. Your fingernails and toenails will be ripped off your fingersand toes, and your stomach will by pumped full of battery acid. Your legs will be bound together and sawed at, but never sawed off, and I will let flies lay their eggs in your wounds as they fester. You will have your teeth ripped out and screws driven into the soft flesh of your gums, and your tongue will be sewn to the top of your mouth. I will drives nails through your eyes, over and over again, and into the back of your skull, pinning you to the railroad tracks, and watch for days until I'm satisfied that you're sufficently ground up enough to be shark chum, then see ho many sharks die as I feed them your poisonous remains. You will not be forgiven for anything you do to _my _Naruto."

My breath almost stopped right then. Yes, I was choking on the horrific details but..._his_ Naruto? It stopped me in my tracks. But I wanted to laugh too. Orochimaru didn't look like he knew which to do. Piss his pants or punch the pale teen over him. Sasuke rammed him down into the floor and said loudly, "Screw you. I don't care if I'm counted absent. I'll find him regardless. Remember what I said, _Mr. Sannin."_

I backed up and ran down the hall, going around the corner. When I heard the door shut, I stepped out, and pretended to only just now see him, and he called out, waving to me and running up, smiling at me as if what I'd just witnessed had never happened.

_But I wasn't supposed to have seen it._

We walked down the hall, me neglecting to tell him about Mizuki until I could at least come up with what could pass as a clue about anything that had happened today. For example. I couldn't get the words, "_will not be forgiven for anything you do to my Naruto,_" out of my mind. They kept replaying, and soon it was constant reruns of, "_my Naruto, my Naruto, my Naruto, my Naruto" _I was confused, to say the least. But unbearably happy too.

Even if it didn't mean what I wished it did...it wasn't possible.

Was it?

* * *

**Soory guys. I just wanted to get that out of the way. I tried my best.. Sorry if it came out crapish. I needed to get at least a tinsy bit of a confession out there to appease the mob outside my apartment window, and this seemed best, since I'm not ready to put the whole thing out yet. I doesn't seem...right, yet. Sorry. But know for sure. It _will_ happen before the end of chapter 2o or 21. I might add something for fun in chapter 19. Maybe some ShikaKiba or NejiGaara? You vote in your reviews and take hold of the future! *waves crash behind Lawlie and she gives you a teary-eyed, "YOUTH!"***


	19. Not So Secret Feelings

**Sorry guys, for the wait. *sniffs* i know it mustve been tough. I've been there. But hey, hope you like this. There's a little bit of everything. Oh, and a friend said something that made me think I should clarify one thing.**

**Ahem. NO INO AND SAKURA LOVE~ WILL BE HAPPENING AT ALL IN MY FANFICS! _EVER! _**Urgh, that is so...*shudders and gags* wrong!

Also, sorry that It's so short. And for the sudden time skip. But I really kinda _need _to push myself to get the confession out. I've already worked out how it's gonna happen...for Sasuke, that is. Naru~chan's is gonna be awkward tho. Hope you find it endearing and not annoying in the end.

Love you guys! Jana~

Either 'Never Alone' by Barlow Girl or 'Don't Forget' by Devi Lovato.

* * *

_One Week Later..._

As the two teens walked down the stairs, and pushed past a group of guys smoking, Naruto coughed and stumbled, bumping into the raven in front of him. Sasuke just put out an arm and grabbed him, carrying him to the next floor before giving into his complaints and letting him stand up.

"Idiot. One day you're gonna-" he stopped, glaring overhead, past the smaller teen. Slowly, Naruto stopped pouting and turned, eyes widening as he stepped slightly behind his friend. His face was paler than normal, and his legs were suddenly quaking in unease.

It wasn't that he was scared of the person, since Sasuke was there with him.

More like...he was scared of finally finding out what had happened that day.

"You bastard!" Mizuki growled, his bandaged arms and face wrinkling in anger.

He snapped forward, and grabbed the blonde's arm, pulling him away from the raven. Sasuke growled, snatching a grip on Mizuki's wrist, and tightening his hold, making the other hesitate, if only for a moment.

"Stay outta the way, Uchiha. This little bastard gave me these injuries. He's a demon. Always has been, always will be." Sasuke's eyes widened, but he only paused for a second, quickly, tugging Naruto away from the teen and into his arms, murmuring if he was alright. The frightened blonde just nodded slightly, gripping the raven's shirt arm tighter.

"Personally, Mizuki, other than to thank whoever did it, I couldn't care less how exactly you got your ass handed to you! So back the hell off of Naruto!" He snarled.

"Come on, Sasuke," the silver purred, his voice roughly low, "We both know Tsunade ordered you to do this. We all know that you would much rather kill the stupid fox!" Naruto winced, feeling for a truth, but relaxed when Sasuke shook his head at the other.

"You moron. All I can see is a bitch who's gonna get his ass carved up and served on a platter back to you if you ever come near my-" he stuttered for a split second but covered it, "friend again!" Naruto snapped his eyes sharply up to the mass of charcoal hair in front of his face, though slightly over his eyes. He raised a brow on the inside.

_What was he about to say?_

Mizuki started forward, disbelieving.

"Aw, Sasuke. Nobody here will day if you just let us have our way with _it," _the dirty silver muttered, and reached for the little blonde beside the raven opposite him, only to hesitate when said raven dug his hand into one of his loose pants and grasped something on his leg. Mizuki retracted his hand and smiled uneasily.

"You wouldn't dare. Not on school grounds. Mr. Uchiha 'Avenger'." A sudden flash went through the raven's eyes, and he growled. He hadn't heard that name in what seemed like forever.

A steely glint came into Sasuke's eyes, and he was silent. Mizuki laughed, reassuredly, and smiled, latching his hand once more onto a now shaking Naruto.

Before he could bat an eye. however, a seven-inch-long, unsheathed blade was pointed directly at his left eye, the tip gleaming.

The sheath was trembling in Sasuke's clenched hand, the knuckles around it white with stress and the horrible certainty that he could kill the silver right now if he wanted to.

He'd sworn to never enjoy that sensation again. Oh, it was there, alright...but he didn't enjoy it.

Not one bit. Mizuki gulped audibly, and you could now make out the beads of sweat dripping down the other's unnaturally bleached skin. He was clearly trying not to panic, but it's relatively hard to think of something to say that isn't gibberish when a sharp oject, about the size of the length of your hand is where you could make out any nicks, if there were any, that is.

Of course Sasuke would keep his partner in top condition, however sworn-off the idea he might have been. Naruto shuddered, but only held his fistful of jacket tighter, burying his face in the raven's broad back and inhaling his scent as much a possible.

Finally the silver seemed to regain control of his tongue and swallowed again, still holding onto Naruto with a strong hand, finger's almost bruising the smaller teen's forearm.

"B-But if they find out-" Sasuke stepped closer, putting his face in Mizuki's and lowering his lids to where all that showed was that dangerous gleam and the truth in his words. The seriousness.

With his voice dangerously low and deep, the raven said softly, "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, you asshole. I could honestly care less what happens to me, as long as Naruto is fine in the end. Go ahead, tell Tsunade. Tell anyone you please. I'll gladly be expelled for him. But let me make this certain. Right here. Right now." He glanced around, to make sure the now medium size crowd of spectators was listening, "If you try anything with this idiot here," he jerked his head back to the cringing blonde, "You see just how long it takes me to hunt you down."

His voice was so gentle, everyone involuntarily shuddered.

"And every single one of you. If you hurt him...I _will_ kill you. Got it? Good." He kept the blade level, unclenched Mizuki's trembling hand from the teen behind him, and crumbled it in his own fist, throwing the silver backwards,and into the stairs. He then carefully put the knife back into it's sheath and tucked it back to it's belt on his leg. He'd worn it on a whim that day, and now he was _damn_ glad he had.

_If I hadn't randomly thought of something so covered in my past...Naruto could be dead right now. Or worse. _He finally let out his own, body-jerking shudder and stumbled, very uneasy but still relieved.

Next to him though, Naruto looked up, biting his lip, and walked beside the raven, a steady train of questions going through his mind. Not the least of these thoughts was, _Just what had Sasuke been about to say? And why didn't he say it?_

_What is he keeping from me?_

* * *

As Neji woke up, he could feel someone's eyes on him, and since he could tell he hadn't transcended into heaven, given his massive heartache, he knew who it was. It was the source.

-Of the massive heartache, that is.

He could feel the heat trying to crawl up his spine and flood his ears and neck, but he forced it down again and sighed, feinting a groan and shift.

"...Neji?" Gaara's deep, silky voice was closer than he would've thought. In fact, the teen could've been next to him and the sound wouldn't have been clearer. He didn't move, and barely dared to breathe.

"..You awake yet?" He had somehow gotten closer. Suddenly, a brush of softness was on his cheek, and Neji fought desperately the urge to stiffen. He instead enjoyed the redhead's fingers as they rubbed against his skin. He sighed and leaned into the touch, apparently startling Gaara, who let out a gentle gasp and pulled back a little.

Then it was quiet, and a last brush was against his lips, before the hand went away entirely, leaving an odd sense of loss in the Hyuuga's stomach.

_Bad Neji! Bad Neji! Shut up! No, you! Shut the hell up! No, you bastard, you shut up! Shut the fuck up!_

He has very elaborate conversations...with himself...

As the chocolate haired teen grew reaccustomed to the dark pit in his abdomen, he could feel someone stand up from the bed and he finally peeked. Gaara was faintly blushing, and his fiery red hair was fallen around his pale, moonlight colored face, highlighting the deep, insomniac black under his eyes, as well as his gorgeous sea foam eyes.

He fought the redness down once more and shut his eyes tightly, ever the one for denial.

_I don't feel this way. I don't. I shouldn't. I can't.._

* * *

Gaara stood over the sleeping teen and sighed deeply. He'd been awake for almost three hours, and wanted Neji to wake up already. Finally deciding something, he sat down beside the long haired teen and leaned over him more, watching his face as he slept.

_I love you. I love you..._He thought sadly, trying not to sigh again. He had battled with himself for almost a month now, and was finally able to say it, if only to himself.

He reached over and almost touched the Hyuuga's cheek, pulling back at the last moment to clench his fist frustratedly.

_Why can't I tell him?_

Confusion was not something the Subaku child was accustomed to, and he decided he did not like it one bit. He much preferred to have all the pieces in his mind and quickly stick them together flawlessly.

But apparently, that was not the case here. Neji Hyuuga was the one and only enigma that currently presented itself to the redhead.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were already well figured out.

All that was left was to admit their love. But for him and Neji…

_I can't ever tell what he's thinking…_

Not that the other teen ever knew his thoughts either…

As the teen below shifted, Gaara sensed he was awake, and murmured gently, if loudly, "…Neji?"

A slight tension quickly ran through Neji's body and evaporated just as swiftly, a red tinge fought down, unnoticed by the Subaku boy. The shift let the strands of chocolate hair fall out of the rest of the teen's face.

"….Are you awake yet?"

Regardless of any reaction, Gaara summoned the strength and reached out, cupping his friend's cheek with his soft hand, loving the feel of the Hyuuga's warm skin. The boy froze for a moment so brief, Gaara thought maybe it was his imagination, and then he was rubbing the other's cheek with his thumb.

_Neji…_

He had found out slowly, like a like flutter in the bottom of his stomach. Soon he'd begun to fall asleep watching the stoic teen read or listening to him breathe as he slumbered. It never got old or tiring, listening to him like that.

Suddenly, surprising the redhead, Neji leaned into his touch, making him pull back the slightest bit.

_Maybe he really is still asleep._

He retracted his hand, and realized something. The chocolate haired boy's breathing had sped up. So he was awake.

Gaara stood, biting his lip in thought, blushing from his imagination and fervent hope of what it might mean.

Leaning over him further, the younger teen whispered, so silent that he himself wasn't sure he even spoke at all, "Love you."

Neji's eyes opened.

* * *

"Hey Shika?" Kiba was sitting on the window sill.

"Hn?" the spiky haired brunette was lying lazily on the roof directly above. Well, it wasn't the actual roof. It was more like a big, tiled ledge. There was a short wall that his feet were propped up on and he had a lollipop stick, candy eaten, waving in between his teeth.

The clouds overhead were swirling around, wispy and insubstantial.

_Not very good cloud watching today. But still, _he yawned and stretched, _sun feels nice._

"Well," the teen below mumbled, embarrassed, "can I join you?"

Surprised, the lazy teen sat up, spitting out the stick, and smirked, looking at the sky.

"Sure, why not?" he laid back and put his hands behind his head, watching Kiba grunt and heave himself easily over the edge from the corner of his eye, slipping for a moment that set the Nara's heart into his mouth, before settling right beside him.

"Shikamaru…" the mumble was so soft, Shika thought maybe it was the wind, until Kiba coughed and resaid, "Shika?"

"Yeah?" The brunette glanced at him, noticing how beautiful the younger Inuzuka looked right then.

The wind was blowing his hair and the vibrant red fang tattoos on his cheeks were highlighted by the sun. His tanned skin looked so soft and touchable. Even his elongated canines were poking his bottom lip in an adorable way. A bubble of happiness grew in Shikamaru's stomach, and he sighed deeply.

"Do you care if someone loves you?"

Choking on his spit, the Nara teen forced down the vibrant flush, looking over at Kiba. The dog lover wasn't looking at him, instead a bright red, watching the clouds intently, as if determined not to look at him.

_Well screw that._

Shika got up and put one hand on either side of Kiba, leaning his boy almost exactly over him, but keeping his legs both on one side, leaving the other's lower body alone (poor fans. I know you were desperately hoping there!)

"S-Shika?" Kiba tried to get up, but the brunette didn't move, and cocked his head, a little smirk playing with his lips.

"Why would I care?" Kiba looked away and sighed.

_I didn't think he would, but I just-_ "But hey, I'm not saying I wouldn't listen to why they 'loved me'. Hypothetically, of course. Who do you have in mind?"

Blushing radiantly, Kiba just listened to his heart beat, glancing at Shikamaru from the corner of his eyes.

_What is he saying here?_

"Shika, I-"

"Shikamaru! You here?"

_DAMN YOU, ASUMA! _Shika cursed to himself angrily, giving Kiba one last horribly sad look, before sighing and standing up. He swung back inside.

* * *

Kiba nearly broke down and sobbed right there, but he swallowed the gluey lump in his throat and put a forearm over his blushing face. Frustrated tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, and he blinked hard, closing his eyes tightly and biting his lips.

The wind blew his hair over his arm and he turned on his side.

_I am such a coward._

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

I leaned against the lockers, and sighed, running a hand through my hair again. For the millionth time, I was depressed. Sasuke had stayed to talk to Kakashi about something, and I wasn't sure about what to do with myself. I usually didn't care what we did as long as I was with Sasuke, but now I was beginning to realize just how much I'd changed since that night.

I wasn't always loud and obnoxious anymore, and everyone was bound to notice sooner or later if it kept up like this.

_Maybe I should just let them notice. Not like it really makes a difference one way or the other. Like people who hate me will care whether or not I'm quieter these days._

_-I don't think it matters, kit. Your mate loves you, so why do you care?-_

Mate? I blinked, and waited for the fox to say more. We'd been 'communicating' on and off for a few days now, and the old demon seemed less violent than he used to be. More…relaxed.

_-The dark haired one you call Sasuke. Him-_

"Sasuke? My m-m-m-mate?" I articulately stuttered, head stumbling into the hard locker door, and fists getting sweaty. Mates? As in...

I then turned calmly, and slammed my head, forehead first, into the wall, gripping the lockers like a lifeline.

When the world was spinning and everything was right in the universe once more, I slid down heavily and groaned, my head now pounding, and Kyuubi had efficiently gone back to sleep, cutting off anymore talking we might have done on the matter.

As I heard a door shut, I glanced up through my mass of blonde hair up to see Sasuke and Kakashi walking towards me, apparently still enthralled in discussion. The silver gave one last comment, glanced at me, and shut up, with a meaningful look at the raven beside him.

_There it is again._

Sasuke just scowled and shook his head slightly, motioning faintly to me again.

_And again._

Finally Kakashi just crossed his arms and nodded to the side. Sasuke rolled his eyes, glanced to my direction, before following him a little ways off, muttering something I couldn't hear.

_Again._

They spoke for a moment, and then came back, Sasuke waving to the silver before sliding down beside me.

"Hey, what was that about," I asked, a little somber.

He just shook his head, "Nothing. Just wanted to ask him something about homework."

_And again._

_"_Like what?"

"Just which chapter we read to."

_Liar._

"Oh. Alright."

He nodded and we sat there for a moment before standing and walking out, to our dorm once again. I couldn't stand it.

"Sasuke, is something going on?" I could visibly see the tension flow into him, but he didn't stop, and just masked his emotions, shaking his head.

"No. Why do you ask?"

_So he really won't tell me..._

"No. Nevermind." I looked away, blinking hard against the surprising force of thhe tears stinging the corners of my eyes. My heart felt oddly cold, and I followed him in silence.

* * *

**I know it's sad, I'm sorry. Please, nobody hurt Asuma-senpai! He is already hurt by Shika-san! Just don't huot hium! LOVE YOU ALL! XOXOXO**

**Will try hard to get oyu that SasuNaru! I will go on self discovery journey and discover..something great. Maybe have an apifany...or something like dat. Wait for my safe return. good ppl of the fair world of Fanfiction!**


	20. Drunken Words

**Okay. SASUKE. One word. One hint. Enjoy.**

'The Reason is You' by Hoobastank

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

I sat up, listening to the hushed argument outside. Sakura and Kakashi had come over together and apparently dragged Sasuke outside to yell at him ovver something. He was supposed to tell someone something, it seemed. But after the first sentence, the conversation was very quiet, and I'd sighed and leaned back on the mound of pillows we hadn't felt like getting rid of.

He sudenly came back inside and I jumped, watching him pace around furiously.

He was mumbling, "How dare...who are they to say...I can't just tell...how I feel..."

I had a moment of hope, before he realized that I was in there with him, and he stopped, nearly tripping over the very short coffee table. I sighed and looked away, trying to keep the diappointment from my voice as I asked again.

"Sasuke, are you sure nothing's up?"

He raised his brows, donning the mask he didn't know I could see through, and smirked forcibly.

"No, nothing at all, dobe." I didn't rise to the playful insult, and he continued after frowning slightly, "Everything's good."

_Liar. You damn liar. Why won't you talk to me?_

I felt hot, angry tears prick my eyes, and I hurriedly blinked them away, clearing my throat.

"O-okay. I'm gonna go to sleep now." He nodded, brows both furrowing as he watched me.

I turned over and laid down again, readjusting the pillows. Pulling the comorter up, I let the frustration flow, and with it the tears came back. I just barely stopped the bed from shaking with my shoulders, maybe just from sheer force of will.

After a moment, he apparently thought I'd dropped off, and sighed, sitting down heavily on the couch. He sighed again and groaned.

"Oh Naruto. I wish..."

I listened, hoping he would talk to himself about what was bothering him.

_Please. Let me know. Please!_

But he stood up again after a minute and I heard him grab his keys.

"I need a drink." I shifted as the door opened, quiet, and turned over to watch as his hunched and sad form walked out the door, shut it, and I could hear him lock the door.

"Jerk," I whispered, tears coming again. I grasped the blanket tighter and buried my face in it, "You jerk! Baka!"

* * *

_**Sasuke POV**_

I walked out of the dorm and locked it, padding down the carpeted hall. About halfway to the door, I realized something.

I forgot shoes.

Growling, I turned, decided to make the trip back instead of put up with any strange looks, and headed back.

Unlocking the door, I went back in, hunted for my converse blacks, and saw Naruto had turned back over.

Getting closer, I felt my heart break into several millions pieces.

There were fresh tear tracks down his face, and more were coming out, as he slipped deeper into sleep.

"Jerk..." I heard his whisper, and ran an agonized hand through my hair, walking back outside and shutting the dorm once more. Sliding down to the floor, I put my shoes on, not bothering to tie the laces, and stood shakily back up. Now I really needed a drink.

_Several hours later...around four in the morning..._

"Good luck with your guy, Uchiha!" Barty called, and I waved, tripping over my feet and giggling. I bumped into a post and flipped around, nearly falling down the bar stairs.

Stupid people. Putting hard things like stairs when they know drunks will be trying to navigate out here.

I hate people. Stupid bastards.

"Hey, buddy. Not all of us are," a guy parking his bike called, smirking as I looked at him owlishly.

Maybe he heard my thoughts. I got real close to him and thought, Is this guy and esper-whatcha-ma-call-it?

"No. I'm not," he chuckled, and I stumbled back, wide-eyed.

Then, realizing I'd been speaking aloud, laughed really loud. He just shook his head and mumbled, "Oh to be young." He didn't look that old to me. He smiled and nodded. I realized I must be doing it again.

He waved and went inside. I finished stumbling down the stairs.

Stupid people and thier stupid stupidity of stupid stairs.

Going back to my car, I looked at it, and a wire connected, making me walk down the road instead. A car honk made me get out of the center of it though, and by five I was back at the college, after having wandered around like a damned hobo for half an hour, mooshed brains not able to extract the school's location from the squabble of drunken thoughts.

A shape detatched from the building and Shikamaru grabbed my jacket, pulling me inside, apparently angry for some reason that was unbeknownst to me in my current state. My Uchiha ride was chest high and drowning in _sake_, giggling with te rest of me.

This would explain why I did the following. I tackled him and giggled, squealing. He looked horrified, and worried that something was really wrong with me. Well, I was drunker than a vodka.

"Aww, Shika! Whatcha doin? Didja tell Kiba ya lurv 'im yech?" I blinked.

"Yech. Yect. Yec. Yet. Yeeeeett-" Shikamaru slapped a hand over my mouth and I grinned behind it, spitting on it. He grimaced, and pulled me down the hallway, wiping his hand on his shirt, unbuttoned and wrinkled.

"Man, Sasuke. I didn't know there was enough liquor in the world to make you act like this. What an affectionate drunk," he grumbled, trying not to get us both expelled, seeing as drinking was one of the big NO-NOs.

"Yech!" I wailed, only to be knocked on my head. Hard.

I woke up blinking and groaning. With one hell of a headache, but the drunken stupor lessened it greatly, and I grinned at the brunette.

"Hey Shika!" He shook his head and we sat there, him staring out the window, with me just a babbling away. We were in the teacher's lounge, and I just laughed and laughed at the irony, wondering if Shika thought I was going insane. He nodded, apparently amused by that. Oops. Well, that biker did say I was talking out loud.

"Biker?" the Nara raised a brow. Then, cutting me off, he asked suddenly, catching me off guard, "Have you told him yet, Sasuke?" I started, instantly sobering up. I pretended, cocking my head and forming an 'o' with my lips.

"Told who what?"

"Nice try. Damn you're troublesome. IQ over 250, remember?"

I snorted. Braggart.

"Thought it was only 200, brains."

"I never put my all into IQ exams. Too troublesome," he stretched, and looked over, showing that he had not let me change the subject.

"I can't," I relented, sighing and dropping my head agaisnt the wall. He looked away and sighed too.

"Scared, Uchiha?" I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yeah...yeah. I am." He looked over sharply, startled.

"Yeah, I'm man enough to admit that much. Okay. I'm fuckin' terrified. I love him so much it actually hurts something inside me when I'm not with him. I want to always make him happy and be by his side. I love him. And I can admit that I just happen to be scared shitless he'll reject me and not love me back. I'm frikin' afraid he'll hate me, alright?" by the end, I was shoving down the lump in my throat, refusing to look at the shocked Nara teen, panting with force of my confession.

After a little while, Shika stood and walked over, offering me a hand. I shook my head nad got up, a little woozy still, and muttered, "Thanks. Again. For saving my ass."

He just nodded, watching me walk away, until I was almost out the door.

"Uchiha." I stopped, not turning, and waited. He deserved that much.

"I don't think he'll hate you."

I chuckled ruefully and nodded again, waving with one hand as I kept going, making my way to my dorm again.

_Chh. Yeah. If only..._

* * *

_**Normal POV**_

As I woke up, the clock showed five o'clock. I turned over and sat bolt upright. There was no raven next to me! I looked wildly around and got hurriedly out of the bed, grabbing my spare key and racing out of the room. I ran around, checking everywhere, until resolving to ask the smartest guy I knew.

Walking quickly down the hall, I heard voices coming from the brunette's usually room. It was actually the teacher's lounge, but he used it to hide in when he needed peace. I slowed, and listened...

"Am ah goin' insane, Shika?" I heard a familiar voice slurr. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I went forward, only to stop when I heard, "Biker?" A little Sasuke giggle.

GIGGLE?

I felt my jaw pop of and drop to the ground.

Sneaking up on the open door, I peeked in.

_Oh good god in fuckin' heaven. He's drunk. No. DAMN. He's past hammered. He's frikin' _sledgehammered_ it looks like._

Kyuubi didn't say anything, just watching through my eyes. He seemed to be very deep in thought.

"Have you told him yet, Sasuke?" I blinked and strained to listen even harder now, determind to find out what was going on. Finally.

"Told who what?"

"Nice try. Damn you're troublesome. IQ over 250, remember?" I heard Sasuke snort, apparently sobered up a bit by now.

"Thought it was only 200, brains."

"I never put my all into IQ exams. Too troublesome," Shika replied, and I stifled a laugh. Of course.

"I can't," I suddenly heard Sasuke say, his voice deep, rough, and incredibly unhappy. I then heard Shika sigh.

"Scared, Uchiha?" I felt my eyes widen. Scared of what? Would Sasuke say it?

"Yeah...yeah. I am." My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of my head. He ADMITTED IT? Oh my gawd.

"Yeah, I'm man enough to admit that much. Okay. I'm fuckin' terrified. I love him so much it actually hurts something inside me when I'm not with him. I want to always make him happy and be by his side. I love him. And I can admit that I just happen to be scared shitless he'll reject me and not love me back. I'm frikin' afraid he'll hate me, alright?"

I almost swallowed my tongue. it literally went halfway down my throat. He said...he said...

-_He finally said it, kit.-_

_Yeah. He did. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me back. He...he really loves me...yay._

I almost rushed into the room but something clicked.

_He is very stupid._

_-I agree.-_

I stood up, and snuck closer, peeping inside. Shika was watching Sasuke, eyes wide, a shocked expression on his usually stoic face, and Sasuke had his head in his hands. I retracted my head and felt awful for being such a damn coward.

Backing up, I finally realized what Sasuke had been freaking out about.

_And I just got anry at him..._ I could feel tears come to my eyes. Sniffing, I walked slowly away, barely catching-

"Thanks. Again. For saving my ass." I heard Sasuke stand and start walking as well.

"Uchiha."

"I don't think he'll hate you."

Turning the corner, I didn't stand there to watch the raven come out, instead heading to the roof. It was always a good place to order your thoughts.

* * *

_**Sasuke POV**_

I didn't want to go back yet. Not quite. So I headed outside. I figured a few laps around the campus might give me some ideas.

On how to tell him, that is.

* * *

**SO?**

**O.O**

**Me- HOW WAS IT?/?**

***crosses fingers***

**I need lots of reviews if i'm gonna summon the courage to go through with the ighly awkward Naru-chan confession. Aint no way in hell he's getting drunk too.l But this was my plan for Sasuke from the very beginning, so I hope it was at least decent.**

**Hoping.**


	21. Roof Top Echoes

Either 'A Thousand Miles' by Vanessa Carlton, 'No Giving Up' by Crossfade, OR 'Invisible' by Clay Aiken

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

The wind abused my hair and long shirt, black flowing smoothly in the night. My flannel pj pants were outlined in moonshine, and I watched the grounds below, elbows propping my head up on the wall blocking the huge drop. I was leaning over the empty space, alert as I heard a door open up and then shut. A mass of raven hair bobbed as Sasuke walked out from under the parapet, and onto the cool, swishing grass below. The air still smelled faintly of said grass, freshly cut and trimmed.

Overhead, a wisp of cloud entered the bright shining moon's orb, and I sighed, leaning further. He _was_ beautiful, just as he was in everywhere else. I groaned, and turned, sliding down against the wall.

"What to do...what to do...well, since nobody _knows_ I heard him-"

"Don't." I heard Shikamaru whisper from where he was sitting behind the roof door. I smirked, glad to have guessed right, and got up again, going over to sit against _it_ instead.

"Why?" I muttered back, losing the smirk. I wasn't sure if I was ready to tell Sasuke yet, and even though I knew I loved him...

"Tch. Gawd, both of you. So troublesome. I haven't had proper lazing time in two days, you know that?" He grumbled. Then, Sighing lightly, "Idiot. He's right. You both love each other, but what do you do? You sit on your bums and let the love rot."

_Shut up..._

I snorted. He was one to talk.

"With mine it's different. He knows that you need him to say it. And I know you're scared too," the last part was near silent, and I'm not sure he even said it.

_I said...to shut up already.._

He went on, "You're worried you can't provide anything for him and he'll get sick of you and-"

"Shut up." I whispered, tears pricking my eyes, "Just shut up!"

"And you're afraid to lose him before you even have a chance to tell him how you fee-"

"SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HATED ALL YOUR LIFE BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU CAN'T CHANGE, HAVE YOU? SO JUST HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL RIGHT NOW? yOU CAN'T POSSIBLY KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO LOVE SOMEONE THIS MUCH!"

My chest was heaving, and I gasped, putting a hand over my mouth. Tears were streaming down my face.

My cheeks were crimson, and I panted, glaring furiously at the grey cement under me and listening to Shika sigh on the other side.

I lowered my voice, and swallowed the anger for a moment, continuing, "So don't pretend to know how it feels to have a chance-finally-at having someone love me. To just_ love me_. With no strings attached. DON'T PRETEND TO KNOW HOW I FEEL!"

I heard him get up and walk away...but I also heard, "You're welcome."

I gasped, getting up and running to the side of the building. Sasuke was staring up back at me, and eyes wide, mouth parted in an 'o', with the wind tossing both our hair around. I bit my lip, and stood straight, turning and walking away.

_Now he'll hate me for sure..._

* * *

_**Sasuke POV**_

"SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HATED ALL YOUR LIFE BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU CAN'T CHANGE, HAVE YOU? SO JUST HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL RIGHT NOW? YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO LOVE SOMEONE THIS MUCH!" I froze and turned to look up at the roof.

That was Naruto's voice. He said...he loves someone?

A few seconds later...

"DON'T PRETEND TO KNOW HOW I FEEL!" I felt my eyes widen. Who was he talkng to?

Who was he talking about?

I heard a loud gasp, and suddenly, his golden hair was appearing over the side. For a horrifying moment, I thought he was going to fall. Or jump. But he just looked down at me. I stared back.

Then, eyes darkening, he straightened and turned away from me. I felt a scream rise in my throat, but something held it back.

But then...who was he talking about? I had to know.

Without much reason to the thought, I whirled on my heel and sprinted inside.

* * *

**Yes, I am aware it is uber-short, but what with the mob storming my front porch and part of downstairs, I gotta hurry and satisfy them somewhat!**

**So sorry! Gomenesai!**


	22. Moonshine

'Fearless' by Taylor Swift

* * *

_**Naruto POV**_

I packed up the bag and stood up, dropping the spare key on his bed. As I heard him unlocking the door, I wiped the tears away, determind to do this right. I just wouldn't let him see. All I had to do was last for the amount of time it took me to leave the building. Yeah. I could do this.

I had to.

The lights I quickly switched off, and headed for the door, not bothering with my shoes. I'd gone without them before anyways.

_-Kit, you're wrong!-_

I ignored him. After all, he had been asleep during most of my life. He didn't have the memories.

I shuddered, and pushed down the lump in my throat. I had to do this.

Just as I reached for the handle, Sasuke burst in, and I backed up, waiting for him to come inside before pushing past him. Or trying to. He grabbed my hand, and I stiffened, tugging my arm to free it.

"Naruto! Wait, where are you going? What's going on?" He tried to pull me back inside. I knew I couldn't let his arms wrap around me. I wouldn't be able to do this if they did. So I fought against him, and pulled.

"Leave me alone," I muttered, willing my voice not to break. I forced the lump down yet again.

_No...don't..._

He wouldn't let go, and kept asking me what I had meant before on the roof. I blocked him, and kept pulling.

"Just leave me alone! Go away!" I cried, flinging myself out the door. He didn't release my hand, and instead I pulled us both into a tumble. I got up and tried to walk away, his hand released on impact.

_No..._

"Dobe! Come back! Talk to me!"

I ignored him, and took a step. My eyes widened and I snapped my head down to look at his hand, that gripped my ankle desperately, his beautiful obsidian eyes, usually so stoic and indifferent, glistening and confused, almost helpless.

Taking a shuddering breath, I willed myself once again, to look away. I could _not_ let him see.

"Let go," I whispered.

_Don't..._

"Stop it!" he yelled, and several yells echoed from inside the dorms around us. It was only six a.m. after all. But he didn't listen, and yelled again, "Naruto! Why won't you talk to me?" I swear there were tears running down his face, but I looked away, not letting him see. I roughly pushed him and ran.

Not letting him see my own tears. He scrambled quickly up and chased after me as I fled down the hallway. A couple doors had opened.

* * *

_Konohamaru leaned against his doorframe, smiking. A little down the hall, Neji was doing the same, Gaara poking his bloodred spikes out, blinking owlishly._

_Nodding at the chocolate, the brunette watched the running pair. Neji smirked and glanced at Gaara. The Subaku teen blushed, but ignored him and muttered in his usual monotone, "What's going on?"_

_"Oh...time is moving forward," Neji answered, smirking wider._

_He knew they would be alright._

_Konohamaru just grinned and watched Naruto run into the elevator, doors closing before Sasuke made it._

_Understanding, the redhead smirked too, looking on when the Uchiha sprinted desperately to the stairs, flinging the door open and racing down, to where Naruto would step out._

Sasuke took the steps four at a time, flying down, and smashing the lower door open as well, trying to make it in time. He had to make it! Tears pricked and ran down his face, feet almost invisible.

_Out of the raven's dorm, Kakashi came to lean against the outer wall, sighing._

_"Yep. Time seems to do that, doesn't it?"_

Naruto let his tears run and took another shuddery, burning breath, slidind against the elevator walls.

_"Little by little," Shika murmured, laying on the roof and listening to the sounds of the teen's chase, "We all do. Otherwise we can have no future." _(_ So deep!)

_Nodding again, Konohamaru went back and shut the door, leaving Neji, Gaara, and Kakashi to do the same. Up above, Shika just closed his eyes, listening to Naruto and Sasuke run._

* * *

"Naruto!" Sasuke slid on the slick linoleum, gaining his feet quickly and running after the blonde. Naruto himself had dumped his bag and was focusing on his feet, sprinting across the freshly cut grass he'd been admiring. Just as he cleared the sidewalk, a gigantic white dog ran in front of him and he shrieked, falling down, his chest heaving and sobs wracking his frame.

_Don't...please.._

"Naruto! Wait!" the golden scrambled and stood again, running just as Sasuke grabbed his arm, coal black hair tossed around by a sudden burst of wind.

"Naruto...please..I love you!" the blonde froze, eyes widening and heart skipping a beat. He'd said it.

_No...please stop..._

Finally collapsing, Naruto crumpled into the raven's chest and cried, his small body shaking.

_Please stop me. Don't let me leave..._

"Naruto..." Sasuke bit his lip and held him close, pulling him into his lap and rocking them both.

"Don't leave me."

The other just cried, letting it out.

* * *

_Back in the dorm..._

Kakashi turned back over to the back of the couch to give them privacy, when he heard them coming into the dorm. But Naruto wasn't even awake.

"Hey. Perv," Sasuke nudged the silver with his foot, whispering. His mask was back up, and the blonde's arms were wrapped around his neck, thier owner fast asleep and smiling on the Uchiha's back, the tear tracks drying.

The man sat up, having been awaiting thier return for awhile.

He didn't speak, and only watched them. He couldn't wait to tell Iruka and Sakura! MOE~

As the raven rolled his eyes at the silver's obvious spaz out scession, he went to the bed, carefully putting his new boyfriend down onto the soft pillow mountain.

"Nn...Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled, turning in his sleep. The other's eyes widened, his chest pooling heat when he watched the blonde's adorable face scrunch up and smile.

* * *

_"Don't leave...please...don't" Naruto gasped out, body shaking desperately. Sasuke just tightened his arms, and nodded. He rocked them back and forth, 'shh-ing' the frantic blonde teen he held. Finally, tired and cried-out, the littler boy stopped sobbing looking up and meeting Sasuke's eyes for the first time in several days, other than on the rooftop._

_The raven held back a gasp, seeing the emotion he'd worked so hard to hide portrayed clearly and openly, in the kitling's startlingly blue orbs._

_"Love you, dobe," he murmured again._

_The golden smiled, pressing his forehead against Sasuke's, and whispered, breath visible in the cold night air, "Love you, teme."_

_Smiling, they both started laughing, each happy to have finally said it. They held each other, a big white hound cocking its head at them, sitting in the middle of thier college's front yard, the moon light shing down and outlining thier faces and spiky manes of hair. The silvery shine glinted off of bright gold of one and dissappearing into the endless black of the other._

* * *

**I have nothing to say. ^Review to say what you will I put my all, eight cups of coffee, a piece of strawberry shortcake, and a huge slice of cornbread into the chapter, so say what you will!**


	23. The End?

**Hello, all good fangirls and fanguys! Reviewers and Non-reviewers (Boo.) please pay close attention. This story is over...Mwahahahahahahhaha! But a sequel will be coming soon! **

**3 Happier now?**

**LOL. You totally FELL FOR IT! _YOU KNOW YOU DI~ID!_**

**_So be on the lookout..._**


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